Right Where I Belong
by bleachigo
Summary: Ukitake is Aizen's captive after the Winter War battle, a prisoner in Las Noches. But this might not be a good thing for Aizen after all. If you like Ukitake, you'll like this story!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I got the idea for this story after reading that Wonderweiss impaled Ukitake in a battle. I decided to take that idea and start running with it, and the result is what you are reading now. I hope you enjoy! NOTE (for anyone who had read this story before): I'm re-editing the story, picking up mistakes, cleaning up wording and grammar, in other words, I'm giving it a face lift. And who knows, maybe there might be some extra little scenes that I stuck in here and there..._

Prologue:

Aizen Sosuke had to make a decision. He had seen what damage the Arrancars had taken, with both Barragan and Starrk brought down by his former colleagues of the Gotei 13. And Hogyoku wasn't ready, not just yet. _Would he be able to salvage the situation if he could not depend upon the Hogyoku?_

"Enough, Gin. Let's put an end to this," he said calmly. After all, Sosuke was the master of the situation, despite what it might look like to others. He simply made a decision that this battle was not really worth the effort and Hollow-power being spent on it. _There are other ways to gain what I wish._ He nearly allowed himself a small smile. _No one here knows of it, not yet. But they soon will._ With _shunpo, _Sosuke appeared beside Harribel Tia, Tres Espada, still valiantly fighting off a trio of enemies...

She was stunned. _Hell, probably even Gin was stunned._ As Kyoka Suigetsu, Sosuke's dreaded zanpakuto, sliced her just under her breasts, the feeling of electric shock cut through the c late December sky.

"Wha?" Tia gasped.

"You are no longer of any use to me," Sosuke announced, his words even colder than the air. "It appears that none of you are worthy of fighting under me. Gin, Kaname, let's go!" He turned his back on Tia. "I _never would've imagined_ that the power of the Espada that I so painstakingly assembled would be less than mine alone!"

Tia managed to eke out enough strength to lash out at her killer. _"Aizen!"_ she shouted, running him with her blade Tiberon, and it had seemed to strike him.

"How troublesome," Sosuke sighed, then drew Kyoka Suigetsu once more. He'd already been behind her, had already convinced her that she had been striking in the right direction, when he had been behind her all along, and sliced into her back once more. "That's twice now that you've made me swing my sword!" In unfathomable silence, she descended.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukitake Jushiro hacked up a glob of blood. He was badly injured, having been impaled by an Arrancar's bare hand and then having fallen a good distance to the concrete street surface of one of the fake town's broad main streets. He looked up, and saw that the fighting had come to a standstill. "Come on Aizen," Jushiro murmured as he watched Arrancars fall to the ground, "you know you can't keep up. You know you've got to go to Plan B..."

And then, he heard Sosuke announce, "Gin, Kaname, round up everyone. I've had enough of this fake town!"

Jushiro didn't bother hiding his smile. He propped himself up on his forearms and looked around him. The vacant lilac eyes of a young Arrancar who appeared...special caught his interest. As it turned out, he had one of his hands covered in blood. Jushiro figured out right away who had impaled him.

"Come here. Are you the one who did this?" Jushiro asked him, just as though he was any other small child.

Wonderweiss nodded shyly and then said, "Uh-huh."

"This battle is ending. Do you know something?" Jushiro asked him, slowly gripping his zanpakuto, Sogyo no Katawari. Wonderweiss put his sleeve in his mouth and chewed on it a bit nervously. "You are absolutely perfect!" Jushiro said with a smile in spite of his pain.

Once the battle was completely over, Tosen Kaname was gathering up the last of any remaining Arrancars too injured to make it back on their own. He finally found Wonderweiss, smiling up at the sky, sitting next to a badly injured, seemingly unconscious captain. "What have you found there?" Kaname asked him.

"Ooohaaahuuuaaah!" Wonderweiss answered happily.

* * *

Chapter 1

Aizen Sosuke's deep sepia eyes were fairly gleaming when he saw what prize the seemingly unfortunate Arrancar Wonderweiss had brought him; a captain of the Gotei 13. And it wasn't just any captain, either. It was Ukitake Jushiro, captain of the Thirteeth Squad and one of the oldest captains. A surprise, indeed, that he was even allowed to go to battle in the fake town, considering his sickness. The Shinigami looked like hell, but that might have been because of the wound in his chest put there by Wonderweiss, who had apparently impaled him. Arrancars surrounded him where he was thrown to the hard marble floor of the fifth tower of Las Noches. Jushiro's long alabaster hair fell around his face, hiding his expression.

"Well, I wonder why it is that Wonderweiss, who you all consider far beneath you, has managed to take down one of the captains, while none of you others have managed this so far?" Sosuke asked mildly, not really expecting an answer. _How fortunate, I have a captive captain, and I still have Orihime! It may seem like I've been defeated, but I'm simply regrouping. I cannot be defeated. When will the Soul Society understand this? Once I've unlocked the dimension to the Royal Family? How I shall revel in my final triumph!_

"Maybe he had one of his coughing spells, and Wonderweiss found him?" Ichimaru Gin cracked as he loomed over Jushiro.

"Put the Shinigami captain right there!" Sosuke ordered his lackeys, who pulled Jushiro up by his arms and then tossed him into a rather maleficent-looking stone chair.

Tight leather bands caught Jushiro by his wrists and his neck, effectively pulling his head upright to rest against the back of the chair. For a few seconds, Jushiro stared at the bonds on his hands, his deep hazel eyes considering them. Then, he became vey relaxed, which seemed rather odd to the rest of the former Shingami and the Arrancars. He even had a slight smile on his face. "This is quite sinister looking, you know," he commented lightly.

This annoyed Sosuke. "You are without a doubt the most arrogant of the entire Gotei, Ukitake! I used to think it was a contest between you and Kuchiki, but I know now that you make Kuchiki seem humble!"

"I'm arrogant? I beg to differ! Unlike you, I've never claimed to be God!" Jushiro countered.

"Look at you, with a hole blown through your already weakened lungs, bound to a device that will bring your miserable existence to an end within a few hours! You still have this all-knowing, smug look on your pale, bloody face! This makes you either arrogant, delusional, or maybe both!" Sosuke complained.

"Why how delightful how this seems to bother you, Aizen! Tell me, how will this chair I sit in bring my existence to an end?" Jushiro asked, in an almost amused tone.

"Perhaps I shall have Szayel, my Octava Espada, explain it to you, Ukitake!" Sosuke growled. _Why does Ukitake insist on insulting me even when he is in such a predicament?_

A bespectacled Arrancar stepped forward, with a nasty, proud grin on his face. "That chair is made of deathstone. I'm sure you know of it, it's the very same type of stone that had been used in the past for executing Shinigami, before it was banned because it was considered too cruel and barbaric. And, I'm sure you know what it does. It will drain you of your_ reiatsu, _and with your present injury, this will surely bring about your demise. I expect you to turn into a pile of dust within a day, maybe two."

"Oh? Is that what this odd sort of tickle is?" Jushiro asked in a very serene voice.

Szayel's eyes widened considerably. "Tickle? What are you talking about? Having your _reiatsu_ drained from you has got to be one of the most excruciatingly painful processes a spirit form, especially one of a level such as a Soul Society captain, can ever endure!"

"In other words, I'm supposed to be screaming in pain by now while you all watch? Charming," Jushiro sighed.

"I don't understand what's going on here," Szayel muttered, then he strode up the chair and put his hand on the side. After a few seconds, the Arrancar began to shake with the pain. His fuschia hair seemed to stand on end as he pulled his hand away. "Aizen-sama! It's working!" Szayel nearly sobbed. "I swear it is!"

"Of course it is! We've already drained hundreds of spirits of their energy this way!" Sosuke scoffed.

This got Jushiro's attention. "So, you hope that capturing another captain or two might give you enough_ reiatsu _so that you might be able to make yourself the King's Key after all? _Will nothing stop you from your detestable goals, Aizen?"_

Sosuke smiled unpleasantly. "I think it's fitting that the first of the captains to die this way be you, Ukitake, don't you? After all, you are the one who figured out what my plan was from the moment I left Soul Society. The days of the Soul Society thwarting my plans are coming to an end, starting with your execution. Perhaps the next person I capture will be the Kurosaki boy. Could you just imagine how much _reiatsu_ will fill my reservoir then?" Sosuke grinned wider at the very thought.

Jushiro noticed a movement and heard a small cry from beyond the Arrancars in front of him. He saw a familiar face, one that reminded him of the elysian peace that he had so desired not long ago. "Inoue-san, is that you?"

"Oh, Ukitake-taicho!" the young redhead girl called out. She was being held by one arm by an Arrancar with startling malachite eyes who had to be Ulquiorra. _It was just as my reports had said it was; she's now even dressed like she's one of them._

"There are too many of us in here, it's time we dispersed. Gin, if you would please escort everyone out of here," Sosuke said.

"Alright..." Gin gestured. The slow-witted Wonderweiss was a bit hesitant. He looked at his hand, which still had some of Jushiro's blood on it. Then, Wonderwiess' lilac eyes looked up. Gin followed his focus to Jushiro, who was returning his look and had a slight smile on his face. _For all the world, it's as though the retarded Arrancar is just another child to him, _Gin thought irritably.

"Ulquiorra, take Orihime to her chamber. Grimmjow, you will start the rotation of guarding the esteemed Ukitake-taicho. Every six hours, another Arrancar, except Ulquiorra, of course, will come to relieve the last one. I don't expect that he will last long enough for you to have to guard him again."

"Oh, but Ulquiorra was one of the Arrancar that I was most interested in meeting," Jushiro said in an almost teasing tone.

"Why would you want to meet him?" Grimmjow scoffed. "He's the most boring of all of us!"

"That's enough, Grimmjow! Ulquiorra is Inoue Orihime's full-time bodyguard. You will not be seeing her again, Ukitake, so whatever your little scheme is, it's time to give it up now!" Sosuke warned the captain.

"Inoue-san! Shall I tell Rukia that you are alright?" Jushiro called to her. Orihime whirled back around, and therefore, so did Ulquiorra. _Her persistent bodyguard, _Jushiro mused.

"Tell her...Tell her she shouldn't keep trying to rescue me," Orihime cried.

"Orihime, you must come with me," Ulquiorra urged her. "He will never be able to tell any of your former friends anything, as he will soon turn to ashes. You heard that trash Szayel. There is no arguing this." This statement made Orihime start to cry. With Arrancars surrounding them on their way out the doors, moving back around was proving difficult. But suddenly, Grimmjow caught up to them.

"Hey, before you take the woman back, can you get me something to eat and bring it back here? Please? I'm starving!" he asked of them, followed by a wink.

Ulquiorra bared his fangs, as he always did lately when Grimmjow made one of his moves on Orihime. However, he didn't growl. Orihime wiped her eyes and responded, "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Sure, but at least I'll get to eat before that happens. And the woman won't get in trouble now, she's got full access to Las Noches lately," Grimmjow replied.

"Listen to me,_ Trash! _Aizen-sama said…" Ulquiorra began

"Ulquiorra, you don't want Grimmjow to starve, do you? Besides..._Ukitake-taicho wanted to meet you," _Orihime whispered to him.

Now, Ulquiorra did growl, but only a little. "Why is that important, when he will turn into ashes soon?"

"Well, if you don't go, you won't find out," Orihime concluded in the simple way she always concluded things. "Ulquiorra, don't be afraid of meeting him. Ukitake is very kind!" she added.

"I fear no Shinigami! Fine. Five minutes," Ulquiorra seethed. Then, his bleak green eyes met Grimmjow's electric blue ones. No more words were exchanged, and Orihime left with Ulquiorra right behind her.

* * *

_By all means, leave me a review if you liked this, or if you have suggestions! Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sosuke, Gin and Kaname were congregated in an unusual place when Szayel found them. They were in his laboratory.

"Uh, Aizen-sama?" Szayel gasped. "Did you wish to speak to me?"

"Yes, but only momentarily. You are to focus all of your enegies on figuring out why that chair isn't drawing Ukitake's reiatsu. Nothing takes priority over that. Understood?" Sosuke told him.

"Y..Yes, Aizen-sama," he responded, going into a deep bow. He was fearful of what would happen if he pointed out that the chair_ was _working.

"Now, we have need of your laboratory for the evening. No one is to disturb us, unless of course, you get any brainstorms about the chair."

"Very well, Aizen-sama. I shall leave you to it, then." Szayel dissolved, using _sonido_ to retreat as quickly as possible.

Sosuke turned his attention to his other two co-conspirators. "During the battle earlier, I saw some faces I hadn't seen in over a hundred years."

"And boy were they ever pissed off!" Gin snickered.

"It is amazing that any of them are still alive," Kaname remarked.

"Gentlemen, you know what this means, don't you? Experiment number 73 was the success that we had been hoping for. Now, we shall finally reap the benefits of all that work we did. I only wish like hell I'd known sooner of the results! Step two of Plan B shall now commence, Step one having been capturing our first captain," Sosuke announced.

"Yeah, as long as that old bastard hasn't done something to that chair," Gin cut in.

"What could he have done?" Kaname scoffed. "You are giving Ukitake way too much credit. Half the time, that man is under the influence of powerful drugs to alleviate his pain, and the other half of the time, he's most likely catching up on all the things he's missed. There's nothing he can do to counter us, espcially chained to that chair."

"Enough about that old man Ukitake! Now," Sosuke said, and he poured three lab beakers full from a larger one. He handed one each to Kaname and Gin, then, in his other hand, he held the Hogyoku. "I propose a toast." Kaname and Gin held their beakers up toward his voice. "To Hirako, Otoribashi, Aikawa, Muguruma, Kuna, Sarugaki, Yadomaru, and Ushoda, without whom this would not be possible."

"Why're you toasting that little bitch Saguraki? You always hated her!" Gin frowned.

"Well, she_ is _one of them. Ah, I forgot someone! To Kurosaki Ichigo! How can I forget him?" Sosuke grinned, then he held out his beaker and clinked it with Kaname's and Gin's in one sweeping movement. "Bottoms up!" He downed the potion he'd brewed and winced at the bitterness.

"Damn it all," Gin groused.

"Now, now, Gin, no one promised that every step of this path was going to be sweet. The end result, that is what we must keep in mind. Let's focus now…" He held out the Hogyoku, and the other two placed their fingers on it…

* * *

Meanwhile, Grimmjow prowled back to the area before the chair, which was set on a single step up from the floor. "Where the hell are Ulquiorra and the woman?" he grumbled after a few moments passed.

"I think you meant to say, 'Where are the woman and Ulquiorra?' Or maybe, just maybe, you mean, 'Where are _Orihime _and Ulquiorra?' She does have a name, you know," Jushiro pointed out, then dared to smirk ever so slightly.

"Huh? You causing trouble?" Grimmjow frowned. "I'll just smack you down like a bitch, Shinigami!"

Jushiro struggled to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "That would be a waste of time and effort. I was born to cause trouble. Unfortuately though, it's as Little Ichimaru had said. My body was always too weak to keep up with me."

"'Little Ichimaru?' He was a Shinigami, like you are," Grimmjow said in confusion.

"He's a child compared to me, Grimmjow. Just over two hundred years old. Now, Aizen, on the other hand, he's considerably older than Ichimaru, almost a thousand years older, in fact. How old are you?" Jushiro asked.

"Why do you want to know for? I started out as number 12, now I'm Sexta Espada, which makes me one of the oldest Espada, but not the oldest of the Arrancar, and not the oldest of the Hollows! That's all that matters!" Grimmjow declared.

"How old are you?" Jushiro asked again, patiently.

_"How old are you?" _Grimmjow demanded in turn.

"I'm going to be two thousand years old." This admission made Grimmjow stare up at Jushiro, his impossibly blue eyes wider than they had been all day.

"I...I'd seem like a baby to you, then! Two thousand years old? Hey, do you remember the Romans?" Grimmjow asked.

"I don't remember my time in the Living World. I only know how I died, because my death had obviously followed me into my afterlife..." Jushiro remarked, then took a deep breath. _My lungs might be clear at the moment, however, this wound needed healing, and so far, I'm certain that's not forthcoming._

"So is that why your hair is so white?" Grimmjow asked.

"Hmm? Because I'm almost two thousand years old? Oh, no, I have this white hair due to my illness. My friend Shunsui has already reached his two thousandth year, back in July, and his hair is as brown as it was the day I met him," Jushiro shrugged.

"So…When are you going to be two thousand years old?" Grimmjow demanded.

"You still didn't answer me. How old are you?" Jushiro insisted.

"Oh, no, you don't! _I'm_ the one who's watching _you, _and _you're_ the prisoner, so _you_ have to answer _my _questions!" Grimmjow declared.

"Well, that's rather petty!" Jushiro sniffed.

"What's your birthday?" Grimmjow asked one last time.

Jushiro sighed. "Oh, very well, if you insist. My birthday is on December 21st."

Grimmjow gaped up at Jushiro. "You mean, you're going to be two thousand years old in a couple of days? And Aizen has you in that chair?"

"Grimmjow, please, pay it no mind," Jushiro said in a diminished tone.

"Nothin' doin'! That's…" Grimmjow growled. _That's what? Wrong? That this guy is going to be two thousand years old and won't make it because Aizen wants his reiatsu? We Arrancars never make it to such old ages. I mean, this guy makes Barragan a baby, he's four times older than that old fart was! You don't meet a two thousand year old guy every day!_

"Here we are! I managed to get some peanut butter and tuna fish on pumpernickel bread for you," Orihime announced as she and Ulquiorra burst in on the serious conversation.

"Hey, what about chocolate sauce, woman?" Grimmjow asked eagerly as he took the very strange smelling sandwich from Orihime's plate.

"Well, I had to get raspberry instead. Chocolate seems to be hiding. I bet Loly took it again!" Orihime said with a hint of a frown. "Oh, Ukitake-taicho! Are...are you hungry?"

Jushiro smiled very weakly and got a whiff of the sandwich that Grimmjow was happily sharing with Orihime and said, "Not anymore, thank you." Suddenly, Ulquiorra made a sound. It sounded at first like a stifled hiccup. Grimmjow put his sandwich down.

"I...I think Ulquiorra just...laughed!" Grimmjow gasped.

"No I didn't, _Trash!" _Ulquiorra protested, then was siezed by another hiccup. He covered his mouth, then made a few more short sounds.

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra. However it would seem to me that you are victim of that notorious ailment: a dry sense of humor," Jushiro concluded.

"Oh, so you really are hungry?" Orihime asked Jushiro again.

"Orihime, he is being drained of his _reiatsu, _and Aizen-sama didn't even want you to see this Shinigami, let alone feed him! Besides, he must still have the tastes of humans. He wouldn't like what you offered him anyway!" Ulquiorra argued, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Ulquiorra, as usual, you don't know what you're talking about! The woman is an _excellent_ cook! Yesterday, she came up with a great combination of sardines and swiss cheese with ketchup! I like ketchup! It looks like I'm eating blood on a sandwich!" Grimmjow countered.

"If she offered such a concoction to Aizen-sama, the results would be catastrophic!" Ulquiorra gasped, actually standing up.

"Why, what do you think he would do?" Jushiro asked.

Ulquiorra's green eyes held something very painful in them, something that Jushiro noticed immediately. "Never mind, Shinigami troublemaker! It's obvious that her skills in the kitchen would only appeal to the more simple minded of the Arrancar, not ones like Aizen-sama, or you!"

"Oh, I suppose it wouldn't appeal to me very much, but to be honest I find it amusing," Jushiro said very mildly.

"There's nothing funny about it," Ulquiorra said.

"Oh, come now, Inoue's cooking isn't worth all this agitation on your part, is it?" Jushiro asked him. "I wonder...Could this have overreacting have something to do with how you died?" Jushiro said. "Unlike Shinigami and those in the Soul Society, Hollows, and thus I suppose Arrancars, can recall how they died."

"I am not agitated," Ulquiorra stated as flatly as he could.

"Yes, I think you are. You're afraid for Inoue if she offers Aizen food. That makes no sense, or does it? People who turn into Hollows after they die often had met their end in a very traumatic manner. I suspect this is true in your case, isn't it?" Jushiro probed.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Orihime!" Ulquiorra growled.

"Well, I suppose it was too personal a question after all. I apologize, Ulquiorra," Jushiro sighed.

"Oh, very well if you must know, I was beaten to death!" he suddenly confessed.

"Oh, Ulquiorra! How horrible!" the young girl cried.

"Don't fuss about it, Orihime. I was a kitchen boy, apprenticed to the cook in our master's house. I put too much pepper in the soup! He got so angry at my error that he took one of the fireplace pokers and hit me over and over until I never got up again." Orihime was beside herself in her grief over how Ulquiorra died. "I don't even know why I told you that. There is no need to bother about this issue any longer."

"You can't mean to tell me that this isn't relevant to this present situation! In spite of your nilhilism, Ulquiorra, the truth is you dread disappointing Aizen," Jushiro concluded.

"That is completely untrue," Ulquiorra countered.

"Aizen must trust you very much to give you a job like that," Jushiro continued.

"Oh, don't bother attempting to flatter me. You feel his is exploiting me," Ulquiorra spat.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Jushiro said slowly and with a satisfied sort of glint in his eyes.

"Orihime, let's go. You gave that trash his sandwich," Ulquiorra muttered.

"Hey, woman, that's what this sandwich needs, _pepper!" _Grimmjow said.

Jushiro ventured to say, "Grimmjow, something tells me that there is no pepper in that entire kitchen."

Ulquiorra was so startled by the observation that he hissed at Jushiro, "That's enough, _Monster!"_

"Wow! You really get under his skin!" Grimmjow snickered.

"Grimmjow, I'm not doing this to upset him. I'm trying to ascertain whether Inoue-san is truly safe with him as her bodyguard, and I have come to the conclusion that he will not fail me!" Jushiro said with a smile.

"So there you are, buddy of Kyoraku!" a voice gasped. An Arrancar that had been previously thought dead from the battle had resurfaced at last.

_to be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everyone including Jushiro drew in shocked breaths as the Arrancar stumbled in. "Starrk? What happened? What of my friend?" Jushiro asked.

"Oh, Kyoraku's just _peachy!" _Starrk sighed.

"Well, that's not a surprise, Coyote-sama. You're lucky to be alive. That guy's two thousand years old! But don't you think you ought to go to the healers or something? Or, wait, Orihime's right here!" Grimmjow said.

"Ooh, Grimmjow, you just said her name!" Jushiro pointed out.

"Yeah? Sure sounds like you're trying to cause trouble! Ulquiorra serves Aizen-sama, not you! Well, anyway, that Kyoraku is pretty worked up over you. Don't be surprised if he comes here to look for you," Starrk told him.

"I hope sincerely that you are wrong," Jushiro breathed. _Damn, I hadn't thought of that. I don't know why I hadn't, Shunsui is always so protective of me… Please, Shunsui, let me do what I need to do here before you try and rescue me yet again!_

Szayel's sneering voice filled the chamber as he entered with several goony looking companions. "I doubt that he'll come here. His friend will not be able to sense his_ reiatsu. _He's in the chair, and even if it's not draining all the_ reiatsu _out of him, it is still absorbing the _reiatsu_ that he, as a Shingami, is constantly leaking. But, just in case you're right, it would be very beneficial to our cause to analyze the _reiatsu_ that captain left on you, now wouldn't it, Starrk?"

Jushiro tried to lean forward, but the strap binding his neck to the chair didn't allow for any more movement._ "Don't let him do it!" _he yelled.

"Fuck off, Szayel!" Grimmjow growled, leaping to his feet and grabbing Szayel by his arm, then shoving him away.

"You do not interfere with my research!" Szayel seethed, as he slithered back up.

"Listen, if he's supposed to take samples from me, I guess I have no choice..." Starrk said unhappily.

"No! Aren't you the Primera Espada? Aren't you supposed to be afforded any sort of _dignity?" _Jushiro asked very sharply.

Szayel grit his teeth and pointed at Jushiro. "Did you do any fighting against this captain here, Starrk?"

"Against him, personally?" Starrk dithered.

"No, we did not fight eachother!" Jushiro lied. _Actually, we had fought, briefly. I was deflecting his cero back at him with Sogyo no Katawari, and he was trying to figure out how I did it. And I certainly don't want this Arrancar to "analyze" my Sogyo no Katawari!_

"What about Lilinette?" Szayel demanded.

"I hardly call that a fight! Leave her alone, she's just a child!" Jushiro demanded, aghast.

Szayel turned and walked over to Jushiro in the chair. "You know, Captain, I think I've had just about enough out of you! I_ will _collect the data, I _will _examine the residue of your _reiatsu_ and who knows, maybe I'll figure out why you aren't dead yet."

"Analyzing Lilinette will not produce any results, other than that her cero she blasted at me, I blocked with my bare hand..." Jushiro said quietly. Several of the Arrancars and Orihime gogged at that statement. "Well, it was quite immature!" he shrugged.

"An immature Cero? From _Starrk's_ fracción?" Grimmjow breathed in shock.

"Yes. She's just not experienced enough in combat. I could not possibly fight anyone under such circumstances!" Jushiro sighed. "So, there's really nothing to analyze, is there?"

"I have a better idea, since the thought of collecting samples from the Arrancar sickens you so. Why don't I collect the data _straight from the source?"_

"Hmmm…Well, actually, I am considered rather old. So old in fact that I probably should be farting dust by now. Maybe you'd like to analyze that?" Jushiro offered with a bit of a loopy grin on his face. Virtually everyone started to snicker, except Ulquiorra, of course, who was now hell bent to not laugh at anything else this Shinigami says.

"Really? Well, I just happen to have a speculum handy for just such an examination. I imagine I won't even need to take you out of the chair…" Szayel said with a grin as he leaned closer, reaching for Jushiro's obi…

The loopy grin disappeared, and a dark glint replaced it in Jushiro's eyes. He took his legs, since they were thankfully not bound to the chair like his wrists and head were, and kicked forward. Szayel went flying into the furthest wall opposite the chair, and in a sort of delay effect, a huge crater blossomed around him about a second after the initial impact. "I was just kidding." The air around them all began to crackle with power. Ulquiorra gripped Orihime by the shoulders. Grimmjow gulped and dropped to the floor, Starrk's eyes widened, and Szayel's goons all started making whining sounds. "I believe you might have met Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Captain of the Twefth Squad? He, like you, sickens me. Neither of you understand the least concept of dignity. The only difference between him and you is that with him, I don't believe that he has any idea how disgusting he is, and that you do, but you don't give a damn. _You will not even try to touch me again, and you will not touch anyone else in this room either, ever again! Do you understand me?"_

Szayel struggled to rise from the rubble around him. "Wh..what is this? How is it that your _reiatsu_ is still so strong after being in that chair for over an hour already? Can one person even have that much_ reiatsu?"_

"What are you all still doing here when I gave orders that no one except Grimmjow is allowed in here?" Sosuke, Gin and Kaname appeared in the chamber with the chair once again.

"You know how it is, Sosuke. It's that Ukitake, he attracts people to him like shit attracts flies," Gin snickered.

"My goodness, Szayel! I kick you out of your lab for a hour, and this is what happens to you? You look like you need a little snack. Which of your fraccion do you want?" Sosuke joked.

Grimmjow crawled over to Jushiro's chair, then said softly, "Now here comes the gross part. He's gonna eat one of his fracción to recover!" he tattled.

"Ugh, did I need to know that?" Jushiro sighed, and Grimmjow softly laughed.

"Shoul I even ask who was responsible for this?" Sosuke queried, pointing behind him at the broken wall.

Jushiro eyed Sosuke very coldly. "He attempted to take liberties with me and I wouldn't allow it. By the way, you three look quite…green. Are you feeling alright?"

"None of your business," Gin grunted.

"Starrk. You managed to make it back here after all. Who took you down?" Sosuke demanded.

"It was Shunsui," Jushiro said with a hint of a smug grin.

"Well, Kyoraku-taicho managed to seriously dent my Primera Espada... Imagine how it will be when _he's_ sitting in my chair..." Sosuke mused.

_"That will never happen!" _Jushiro swore.

"How will you stop me, Ukitake? I intend to execute every captain and every vice-captain in the Court Guard. I shall execute the vice-captains first, make the captains watch as their beloved subordinates turn into ash. I'll even watch as Hinamori goes with the wind at last, seeing how miserable she is at my defection. My Gin has always been irreplaceable, so I really never needed her or wanted her in the first place. However, she was quite damned easy to manipulate, wasn't she? And your Kira, and your Hisagi. They have been struggling for months, haven't they, without us with them? I'm sorry about them having to go. Ah, but of course, _you_ had your vice-captain die in front of you years ago, didn't you, Ukitake? Your Kaien? Maybe you have a few pointers for Gin and Kaname that you'd like to share..."

"Metastacia was your creation. Do not for one second think I have forgotten that," Jushiro said very slowly and dangerously.

Sosuke laughed. Jushiro gripped the arms of the chair as he laughed harder and harder. "Metastacia consumed your Kaien, but got taken down by that little fool Rukia! Pretty ironic, isn't it? Turns out that I didn't even need to invent him after all! But, I digress. Then it will be the captains' turn. I already know I'm very much looking forward to cooking your soul mate, Kyoraku. He'll be so beside himself at your loss and then of his lovely Nanao-chan that he'll probably gladly go. Then, let's see…how about Kuchiki? We should take that scarf of his before he's put on there. That thing's worth a fortune! Oh, Kaname, what about Komamura?"

"He won't fit in the chair," Kaname guessed.

"Can't we just tie him up to the back of it?" Gin asked.

"Yes, that should do the trick! We'll save the best for last: your beloved sensei, Yamamoto." Sosuke grinned and approached Jushiro, leering into his face. "Let's stop shooting the shit and get straight to the point. You aren't dying from the chair's powers. You did something...pre-emptive. Neither Kyoraku, nor anyone else, would know to do this thing you did, would they? Very tricky, Ukitake! What did you do? If you don't tell me, the next captain I capture will get put in the chair instead of you, and you'll get to watch that captain melt and shriek in agony while they do so. Maybe it will be your friend, Kyoraku, especially since he might just come down here and try to rescue you. Will you tell me what you did so that at least you won't be around to see your best friend die like that?" Sosuke asked.

"How silly of you, Aizen! If you were right and I did something 'pre-emptive,' is it not possible that I might just have shared this information with others?" Jushiro asked.

"That makes no sense, Sosuke! I can be certain that he wasn't planning on getting captured! He was unconscious when I found him with Wonderweiss. And how could he possibly have known that we had this chair to begin with?" Kaname persisted.

"There's a way to find out, you know. I'll talk to you about it...after I go toss my cookies in the corner..." Gin told them softly, then dashed out of the chamber. Kaname followed, and Jushiro could only conclude that he was about to do the same thing. Only Sosuke lingered.

"Those two sorely underestimate you, Ukitake. Lucky for me that I don't," Sosuke warned him, then departed himself.

"How dare you say you didn't even need to create Metastacia after all. That you tried to take my Kaien's soul for no reason! Well, in the end, he outsmarted you, didn't he? Thanks to Rukia, his soul is safe from you. How could anyone think I would have allowed her to be executed after she had done that? Aizen, you are going to pay dearly for your crimes against me and those I love, make no mistake!" Jushiro seethed.

* * *

Kyoraku Shunsui stood on top of the building where he had finally defeated Starrk. He sent his own _reiatsu_ forth, like a beacon. "My friend, where are you?" he asked the wind, but got no answers. "Why can't I sense your_ reiatsu?"_

He leaped down into the street where he thought Jushiro might have fallen. There were some traces of Jushiro's_ reiatsu _there, but it had been trampled by dozens of others, including some of those Hollow-mask-wearing Shinigami. Even Lisa's altered _reiatsu, _he could still sense. _Had she gone here too? I'll have to ask her!_

Yamamoto Genryusai, Captain Commander of the Gotei 13, appeared before Shunsui. "Anything yet?" he asked.

"No! Yama-jii, I don't understand," Shunsui cried, now nearly in a panic.

"I suggest that you come with me back to Urahara's Living World store. The_ garganta _has reopened. Our forces that we sent into Hueco Mundo are about to come back," Genryusai said.

"Yes, you're right. Maybe one of them coming back might be Jushiro!" Shunsui replied, then they both used_ shunpo _to reach Urahara's shop.

However, once Shunsui arrived there, his hopes were dashed. Through the black gateway between the living world and Hueco Mundo, one after another emerged. Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his Vice-Captain Nemu, Unohana Retsu and Kotetsu Isane and Yamada Hanatoro of Squad Four, Kuchiki Byakuya with his sister Rukia and his Vice-Captain Abarai Renji, Ishida Uryu, Sado Yasotora, Zaraki Kenpachi and his Vice Captain Yachiru, and last but certainly not least, Kurosaki Ichigo, who seemed really in quite bad shape, but no Jushiro.

"Didn't any of you possibly sense his _reiatsu," _he grilled them as a group.

"I'm certain I would have, if he was there," Kuchiki Byakuya said in his usual flat tone.

"Kyoraku-taicho, you don't really think..." Kuchiki Rukia gasped. "No, not Ukitake-taicho too!"

"Rukia...I don't think...he's dead," Ichigo said in a broken pace.

"Now is not the time to be talking, Kurosaki-kun. You need to get medical treatment right away," Tessai told him, then took him away from the crowd.

"Rukia-san, please, when you go back to Squad Thirteen's Barracks, just tell Kiyone and Sentaro that their captain got delayed, and that he'll be back as soon as he gets his business done, please. I don't think I can face them and tell them something like that. Not just yet..." Shunsui asked of her.

"Why tell those two nincompoops such a lie? Better to tell them the truth; their captain was killed by an Arrancar! It wouldn't have been too difficult for one to do the deed. He's been so weakened by his illnesses over the years, it's perfectly plausible that he dissolved into ash from one blow!" Kurtoshuchi Mayuri managed to sneer before getting pinned to the wall by a furious Shunsui. Most people were shocked, not just by Mayuri's insensitivity (though that really should have been expected) but also by Shunsui's vehemence and violent reaction.

"My...friend...is...not...DEAD!" Shunsui yelled, and the walls of Urahara Shoten began to shake.

Kenpachi laughed with glee and began to chant "Fight, Fight, Fight!"

"Shut the hell up, Kenpachi!" Ichigo yelled over his voice.

"Aw, come on, that cock-sucker Kurotsuchi has had it coming for years!" Kenpachi complained.

"Mind your language, Zaraki-taicho," Unahona Retsu reprimanded in her usual soft tone. She then glided up to Shunsui and asked, "Was Jushiro-kun injured?"

"I saw him...get hit from behind," Shunsui admitted.

"And, where was his injury?" she asked him.

"He was...impaled by a child Arrancar's hand. Blasted a hole right through his...chest."

Retsu glanced away for a second, then said, "Under normal circumstances, one blow like that would not kill any Shinigami, least of all a captain. But with his illness too..." Everyone started to look at glum as she did. And Rukia was about ready to shriek.

"Look, I know what you are all thinking! That he couldn't have survived it! But he did! He's a captive of Aizen's now, he has to be!" Shunsui stammered.

"It has been said that there are five stages to the grief process, Shunsui-kun. I feel you are experiencing the first stage, denial," Retsu told him gently. "I'm so sorry, but, if his_ reiatsu _cannot be detected anywhere in the living world, I cannot think anything else except that he was destroyed by the blow..."

"But what if he was taken to Hueco Mundo?" Shunsui persisted.

"Taicho, I swear to you, we were able to sense eachother's _reiatsu_ without any trouble while we were there," Uryu began.

"If someone with Ukitake-taicho's kind of power was in Hueco Mundo was there, we would have known it!" Renji protested.

Shunsui looked at all of them. None of them were at fault for this horror. They were all on a separate mission. But that didn't keep him from being bitter. "And after all that, you didn't even get that girl Inoue back here, did you?"

"Sheesh, that was bitchy," Kenpachi grumbled. "Yeah, I was there wastin' my time while you took down the Primera Espada! By yourself!"

"If I hadn't been so busy with that guy, I could have..." Shunsui broke off, then just retreated. He breezed past Urahara, past all of them, and made it outside. _Jushiro, you weren't supposed to die by yourself, among enemies! If you had to die at all, it was supposed to be in my arms! _Shunsui thought it was a weird thing that he had not even the least inclination to take a drink. "But that's because you're not dead, Jushiro," he said aloud as he sat on a concrete step just outside Urahara Shoten's doors. "And I'm going to prove it..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Gin was still heaving that awful goop, which looked quite iridescent and not like something that should ever come out of a person's stomach. Sosuke had assured him that this was to be expected. He remembered this had happened to all the others, it was true. But Gin hated being sick, even for a minute. He reached up to his face. He could feel the first changes beginning. Fear started to grip him, and the change started to accelerate. So he calmed himself down. He wanted to keep his soul just a little longer.

"Gin? Kaname's completely changed already. I've put him into the special training area, where he's going to start working on those control issues we had always been so concerned about. What about you?" Sosuke asked.

Gin's eyes went wide at the pattern Sosuke's changes were taking. He almost wondered what he looked like yet, but then another twist of his stomach reminded him that this change wasn't so much fun. "I'm alright," he lied, panting ever so slightly. "I wanted to talk to you about the old man in the chair."

"Right, you said you had a plan," Sosuke responded, sitting down next to where his Gin had been crouched.

"We need Orihime-chan to make it work, of course. If you'd been thinking straight, Sosuke, you'd already know which Espada we need to bring back," Gin rambled.

After a few seconds of considering this statement, Sosuke brightened in spite of his roiling stomach. "Oh, of course! My precious Gin! _You do have a wicked heart, don't you?" _Sosuke then turned to his right. "Yammy, my Zero, go and get Orihime and Ulquiorra here now. Then, there's one more thing I want you to do..."

Orihime, however, was already occupied. Jushiro watched as she and Ulquiorra hovered over Starrk, the half-dead Arrancar surrounded by golden light. Then the curious captain asked, "Inoue-san, who ever trained you how to do this?"

"Well, originally, when I was getting ready to go to Soul Society to rescue Rukia, Yoruichi-san helped me learn how to use Shun Shun Rikka. It's so strange, that my brother would have given me a pair of hair barettes that would become this power..." Orihime commented. "I thought the barettes were too immature for me when Sora gave them to me. I wouldn't even put them on at first. Imagine if I hadn't! Kurosaki-kun's new friend Hacchi told me that he thought Shun Shun Rikka was actually like a zanpakuto," Orihime explained further.

Jushiro gasped. "Hacchi? You don't mean Ushoda-fukutaicho, do you? Big fellow, very kindly?" Jushiro prompted, trying to jump start her memory. _Didn't I actually see him at the battle? Could it be?_

"Yes! That's Hacchi!"

"Where did you see him? And how long ago?" Jushiro asked excitedly.

"Oh, just before I got here. He was in a warehouse just outside Karakura Town. He was there with Kurosaki-kun, and a few other people too. That nasty Hiyori girl, and, oh, yeah! Shinji-kun was there. He's a transfer student in my class." Orihime said this so casually, but Jushiro's soul was in a turmoil, indeed.

"Tell me who else was there, please, Orihime! They were all friends of mine, then they all disappeared about a hundred years ago! Was there another woman there, with glasses and dark braids?"

"Oh, yeah! And a girl with green hair, too! And three other men, one of them kinda cranky, in my opinion. Wait, you know them? How do you know transfer students in my class?" Orihime asked.

_Lisa! Mashiro, Rose, Love, Kensei! All of you made it alive! And you are all together!_

Very suddenly, Ulquiorra grabbed Orihime and zipped out of the way of a huge fist barrelling down! They landed right in front of the chair. _"Yammy! What are you doing?" _Ulquiorra demanded. _"You do not put Orihime in danger, under any circumstances!" _Jushiro saw a huge Arrancar which must be this Yammy.

"Aw, don't worry, Ulquiorra!" Yammy guffawed, "I knew you'd be able to get her out of there in time." The giant Arrancar's fist was pressing on the shield of Orihime's healing spell, with Starrk still under it.

"Yammy, why are you attacking us?" Grimmjow asked him.

"I'm not attacking_ you. _I've been given orders to destroy Starrk. Aizen-sama doesn't have any use for him anymore, just like he had no more use for that skank Harribel!" Yammy reported. Everyone else gasped except Ulquiorra, who closed his jade eyes in despair.

"Has Aizen now gone completely mad?" Jushiro breathed. "Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, keep Orihime closeby..."

"Stay out of this, Shinigami! You look like a silly little white mouse in his trap!" Yammy snorted, then shot one of his quick, shallow _balas_ at Jushiro.

"Bakudo # 81: _Danku!" _Jushiro called out, and the Splitting Void surrounded him, Orihime, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. It split the_ bala _around them and sent it blasting through the back wall. Unforunately, it also caused Orihime's shield around Starrk to shatter, since the Splitting Void acts like a force shield, and it broke her contact with the spell.

"Oh, no!" Orihime cried.

"It's alright, Miss Orihime. Thanks to you, I'm in good enough shape to take this idiot on!" Starrk assured her.

"Oh, yeah?" Yammy taunted, then began to draw Ira, his zanpakuto. _"Become Enrag-"_

_"You foolish trash! _You cannot release your resurrección inside Las Noches! Take it outside!" Ulquiorra ordered him.

"I'm Tenth Espada!"

"Not once you've released your zanpakuto, _dumbass!" _Grimmjow reminded him.

"Okay, fine! I'll take it outside! Ulquiorra, you are to take the woman to Aizen-sama. He has a job for her to do!" He glanced at Starrk, who nodded, then they both used _sonido_ and disappeared.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Jushiro allowed the Splitting Void to dissolve. Then he asked, "Why did they have to take the fight outside Las Noches?"

"The _reiatsu_ they'd release would destroy the structure of this building. When it was built by Barrigan years ago, no Hollows had this kind of_ reiatsu _at his disposal, so the building never had to be able to withstand it. No Arrancar ranked fourth or higher is allowed to even do the first release of his or her resurrección. Now, Orihime, let's go," Ulquiorra said.

"Wait a minute! How can you bring her to Aizen if he's turning on Starrk? He might kill you and her too!" Grimmjow gasped.

"Then, you must go with them, Grimmjow," Jushiro said just a bit more faintly than he'd been speaking before.

"What's wrong, Ukitake-taicho?" Orihime asked him, then turned back around and saw the problem blossoming like a lethal flower over his midsection.. "Oh, you're bleeding, let me use-"

"NO! Orihime, if Ushoda is right, if your Shun Shun Rikka is like your very own sort of zapakuto, then you must not try to use it on me if I'm in this chair! The results might destroy your powers! Trust me on this!" Jushiro told her very quickly.

"But-" Orihime cried.

"Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, whatever happens, protect her! Now, go," Jushiro ordered them.

The two Arrancars gave him a steady gaze, one pair of electric blue eyes and one pair of soulful green. "I will," Grimmjow replied at last, then turned to Orihime. "Hey, don't worry, I'll be coming back down here once I know you are going to be okay, alright?" And with that, Ulquiorra and Orihime vanished, followed a split second later by Grimmjow.

"Thank you both..." Jushiro sighed, then tried to look down a bit to see his wound. The blood was starting to pour out. That _kido_ spell was really too much for him to perform in his condition, but he'd had no choice. He couldn't do a lower level spell which might have risked the _bala_ rebounding on Starrk. He gripped the arms of the chair, and grit his teeth from the pain.

_Grimmjow, you needn't come back down here. I'll probably be dead by the time you get back._

_And how ironic this is. I finally find out what I had needed to know, a hundred years too late! Lisa, I tried so hard to find you! I had given up hope! And now, to find out that you're still alive, as I'm dying... _Jushiro's wound pained him, but not as much as his heart at that moment.

That was when an extremely strange thing happened.

"That was some_ bala _blast, don'tcha know?" one voice stammered.

"Maybe it was Itsygo?" another voice, very childlike. These voices were coming from behind the chair, presumably through the large hole that had gotten blasted throught the wall.

_Am I going delirious? Did I just hear a child? And did this child just say "Itsygo?"_

"Hello? Is someone there? Do you know Ichigo?" Jushiro called out. "Please, if you know Ichigo, come here, so I can see you!"

"Itsygo? Nel misses Itsygo so bad!"

"Nel? Is that your name?"

"Nel! Don't tell him nothing! I bet it's a Shinigami!" another voice gasped.

Jushiro rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm a Shinigami, I'm sorry."

This new Arrancar finally ran somewhere inside where Jushiro could see her. A_ child _Arrancar!

"Oh, he's tied up in a chair. Maybe it'll be okay then, don'tcha know?" Three Arrancars appeared before him, one looking very much like a huge mask with yellow and grey polka-dotted arms and legs poking out the sides, another that wore a bug-like mask and a patch over one of his eyes, though one would hardly call him frightening. And the third was a small girl with teal hair and a broken mask she wore like a crown.

"You know Itsygo? Where is Itsygo? He was hurt real bad, and Nel couldn't help him!" She began to cry profusely.

"Nel-chan! Now now, don't cry!" Jushiro said in a soothing voice inspite of his pain, which was considerable. "Ichigo was hurt badly, so he needed to go back to the living world. There are healers who can help him there. He'll be fine. How do you know him?"

"He saved Nel! He fought bad guys for Nel! Itsygo was not a bad Shinigami, he was a good Shinigami, a very very good Shinigami!" Nel wept.

Jushiro smiled. _So, Ichigo-kun is good with children too! Good to know that... _Suddenly, Jushiro felt a fresh new wave of sadness and regret. "What is it? It's Itsygo, isn't it?"

"Well, I was just thinking I would be just as sad as you if I don't ever get to see him again either," Jushiro said.

"How come?" Nel asked.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Jushiro asked her.

"A secret? Uh huh, tell Nel a secret!"

_"I'm his captain," _Jushiro told her in a loud whisper.

"Ooh! You's his Shinigami Captain!" Nel exclaimed in excitement. "But, Itsygo tells us he's just a sub..substitute Shinigami!"

"Yes, well, that's what he thinks..." Jushiro trailed off. _Well, I gave him a badge that he thinks is useless, and that's the result. It's my own fault, but that's how I felt it had to be, at least until this war with Aizen is over._

"Here comes Nel!" she announced, then she shot herself forward, right at the chair!

"Nel, you must be carefu-oof!" Jushiro recieved the hardest _glomp_ of his entire life when Nel landed headfirst into his chest.

"Ooh, Shinigami Captain has a bad ouch! Heh hummmm," she said, sitting on Jushiro's lap and seeing all the blood. And that was when she puked a clear liquid all over his chest.

"N..Nel? What are you doing?" Jushiro asked. Nel giggled and puked some more. Jushiro struggled not to make a face or sigh, but it was quite an effort. But, oddly, his pain had entirely vanished as the clear vomit seeped into his clothing and onto his wound. Even the pain from her landing on him had gone._ Could it be? _"Nel? Is your stomach alright?"

"Is yours, Itsygo's Captain?" Nel asked him back.

"Yes! Yes it is! Nel! Did you just heal me?" Nel nodded. "Oh, Nel-chan! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Now Itsygo's Shinigami Captain isn't hurting and sad he won't see Itsygo again. Nel wants to sleep here with Captain."

"Of course!" Nel grinned and settled onto Jushiro's chest. "You just need to be very careful not to touch the stone of the chair, Nel-chan, or you will get badly hurt."

"Okay, keep Nel safe from the bad fights outside?" she asked him.

"Of course. Sleep well," Jushiro sighed. She closed her light golden-grey eyes and snuggled up closer. He looked toward her two companions. "What bad fights are going on? Is she talking about Starrk and Yammy?"

"Ooh, bad fights between Arrancars and Shinigami, Arrancars and Arrancars, now. We're trying to keep Nel away from all that, if we can."

"What is your name?" Jushiro asked them.

"I'm Pesche!"

"I'm Dondochakka!"

Jushiro looked at them both. "Please tell me, since I cannot fathom this, what a child is doing here?"

"Nnoitra and Szayel did it to us! Nel...we don't want her to remember them," Pesche stammered.

Jushiro grit his teeth. "That filth Szayel again! Who's Nnoitra?"

"Nnoitra turned to dust, don'tcha know."

"A crazy Shinigami finally killed'im! But Nnoitra _had _tried to kill Ichigo! There wasn't no fun, except for them, of course!" Pesche complained.

"Very well. That crazy Shinigami sounds like Zaraki. He likes fighting, to him it's great fun! But I cannot abide a child, even if she's an Arrancar, in Hueco Mundo. You both are fine and noble to try and keep her away from the fighting. I would have done exactly the same if I were in your situation. But I must get her out of here. A child, here!" Jushiro sighed in near despair. His list of people who needed his help was getting longer and longer. _I need Ichigo with me, to get all these tasks accomplished. _"Perhaps you two should also try to find some rest here. From what I understand, Starrk and Yammy aren't allowed to do shikai in the living room," Jushiro advised them.

Of course, Dondochakka and Pesche had no idea what he was talking about. "Ooh, sleep here?Inside Las Noches!"

"I almost feel like it's outside, considering the damage to the walls," Jushiro remarked. The other two somewhat goofy Arrancar companions of Nel both took places on the floor near Jushiro. _It would seem that everyone is tired. _After a few moments of silence, Jushiro found himself nodding off, and though he could not comfortably move his head on account of the binding around his neck, he still managed to fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ulquiorra, Orihime and Grimmjow, appeared upstairs a few moments after Yammy and Starrk began their battle outside Las Noches. "There is one thing I should do before going into the chamber..." Ulquiorra announced, and Orihime gasped as he pulled out his left eyeball and then cracked it between his fingers.

"Oh, good thinking, Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow said.

"We can't afford to have Aizen-sama know that you were healing Starrk if what he really wanted was to have him destroyed, Orihime. Now, my visual record of the incident has been destroyed. Along with all that pepper business..."

"Yeah, but, Aizen might notice that you're eye is missing," Grimmjow pointed out.

"Fine, we'll switch places," Ulquiorra decided unhappily.

"But, Ulquiorra!" Orihime gasped.

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to say, Orihime," Grimmjow reassured her, taking Ulquiorra's place at her side. "You've got our backs?"

"I have_ her _back," Ulquiorra sniffed.

"Which means you have mine, too, right?" Grimmjow growled. "Ulquiorra, you'd better make like you're going back down to Ukitake, got it?" Ulquiorra closed his other eye and said nothing.

"What's going on out there? Orihime? Bring her in, Ulquiorra!" they heard Sosuke call out.

Grimmjow opened the door and walked Orihime in. "Err, Lord Aizen, I brought her up here. Um, there was a little bit of trouble with the prisoner, and Ulquiorra, being Cuarto Espada, thought he'd be a better option to watch him. The prisoner was saying something...it sounded like he said_...'bakudo?' _That's that _kido, _isn't it?"

Gin, who was covered in a dark blanket, could only allow half his face to show. It registered alarm.

_"'Bakudo?' _Are you sure?" Sosuke demanded, who did not even turn to look at them, but was similarly covered up. "Grimmjow, I warn you that Ulquiorra is no more prepared to deal with a captain-level Shinigami doing _kido_ than you are."

"Well, he wouldn't have needed to do it except for that moron Yammy shooting a _bala_ at him," Grimmjow tattled.

"What the hell was going on down there? Where is Yammy?" Sosuke asked. "Is Starrk still alive?"

Grimmjow gulped. "Wh..why did you give Yammy orders to destroy him, Lord Aizen?"

Sosuke turned slightly. "That fool! He wasn't supposed to destroy Starrk until _after_ Ulquiorra came up here with Orihime!" Grimmjow could see a strange thing happening to the whites of the former Shinigami's eyes. "Leave Orihime here, and go downstairs and join Ulquiorra there. You both are to watch over the prisoner tonight."

The Sexta Espada was frozen in place. _Grimmjow, whatever happens, protect her! _Those had been...his orders? That thing happening to Aizen's eyes...he'd seen it before! _There's no way I'm going back downstairs. Ukitake was right! Orihime's protection has to come before anything else, especially now!_

"Ai..Aizen-sama? Are you sick? Did you need me to heal you?" Orihime asked.

Sosuke turned his strange eye a little more in Orihime's direction. "No, Orihime. That is not what I called you here for. Gin and I do not need your healing. You are to bring back another Espada," he told her in a bit of an odd voice.

"Oh!" both she and Grimmjow said, and it sounded like they were quite relieved.

"Come on!" Gin suddenly said, getting up, but still shrouding his face. "Let's go where there is a bit more light to work with." Orihime and Grimmjow, both wide eyes and half out of their minds with fright, left Sosuke's presence and followed Gin.

This left Sosuke to brood as his face continued changing. _That was wiser than I'd given you credit for, Gin. Having that young woman in my presence right now would have presented to her a danger that I'm only now beginning to comprehend. Her powers never cease to thrill me, yet frighten me at the same time. And I cannot handle that distraction while going through this change. I know I've managed to keep her here by fueling hopes within her that she might reverse the exisitence of the Hogyoku. But I think I must provide more for her now. I think she's spending too much time with the Arrancars. No wonder she's been hanging around with that charming snake tied up in that chair._

_She should be with me. I have to provide her with me!_

_Hinamori Momo had been completely enthralled with me. By the end, she would do whatever I asked of her. She tried to kill Gin, Hitsugaya-taicho, and Kira-fukutaicho, all in grief over my "death." What would Orihime do for me, if I seduced her?_

Sosuke slid down to the marble floor. He sat with his back against the wall, and he growled. His fingers tightened into fists. His toes curled inside their tabi. He even started to whack his head against the stone wall, but he barely felt anything. All he could think of was Orihime in his arms, all that lush young woman in his hands... He liked his men slim and slight, but he liked his women voluptuous, and even though Orihime was a bit short for his tastes, he could get over that quite easily! He laughed. Now would be a very bad time for him to act on his sudden impulse! Suddenly, he stood up. His stomach had cleared considerably. But his head was very muddled. He stumbled around for a few moments, trying to get his feet under him again.

He slipped up to where Orihime and Gin were. She'd started to work on her task, and Gin was set far aside from her. This time, Grimmjow was with her. This annoyed Sosuke, but he had no choice but to tolerate it for the time being. Sosuke had to hide himself, because by now, the change he'd been going through was too advanced to hide it even with a cloak.

Meanwhile, Grimmjow watched as the Arrancar in question began to reform. "Oh, hell, what are you bringing this loser back for?"

"It's all for our guest, and you kow we like to accomodate our guests, don't we, Orihime-chan?" Gin explained.

An odd sort of sensation came over Sosuke as he stood watching Orihime. He looked behind him. "Who?" he asked very softly. "I...suppose it's nothing..." Sosuke trailed off. He had to shake himself a bit. He had a nagging feeling, a creeping over the back of his head.

* * *

Just then, downstairs, Jushiro's eyes opened again...

* * *

In one room of Urahara Shoten, Unohana Retsu sat and quietly rested, along with her tall vice-captain Kotetsu Isane. Ichigo was flat on his back, and someone else had taken over his healing.

"So, Byakuya, tell me why you took over again?" Ichigo asked.

"I told you the first reason already; Unohana-taicho needed a rest. But there is a second reason, and it has nothing to do with you." Rukia's adopted_ nii-sama _was his usual regal self, even though he was healing some of the most important nerves in Ichigo's arm.

"But what is it?" Ichigo wanted to know. "After all, I'm not exactly your favorite person, Byakuya!"

"Blunt as ever," Byakuya sighed. "Kurosaki-kun, let me assure you now that you and I both want very much for your arm to be completely healed."

On that note, Retsu looked over Byakuya's shoulder. "Kuchiki-taicho, you're doing a beautiful job. Come take a look, Isane!" Her vice-captain looked over his other shoulder and grinned. Ichigo was encouraged as much as Byakuya, though, of course, Byakuya didn't let the slightest grin touch his mouth.

However, the good feelings weren't going to last…

_"Where is that little dumbass?" _someone bellowed. Ichigo's heart rate spiked immediately, and Byakuya frowned deeply.

"I sense an unfamiliar _reiatsu, _Kurosaki! Who is that?" Byakuya asked.

His question was answered when a youthful looking man with chin length straw colored hair burst through the door and his gray eyes were firing daggers at Ichigo. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Hirako-taicho?" Retsu gasped.

_"Taicho?" _Ichigo breathed. _Shinji is about as far from being a Captain of the Court Guard as I am!_

"I must have blown up your phone to far parts of the universe with all the messages on your cell phone, texted you about a thousand times, and let's not even talk about your Facebook page!"

"Well, sorry, Shinji, but the cell phone signal in Hueco Mundo tends to suck!" Ichigo shot back finally.

_"Hueco Mundo!" _Shinji seethed. "You had no right to go off there without me!"

"Get out of here. I have healing I need to still accomplish, and you are a distraction," Byakuya complained.

"Oh, so you don't remember me, eh? Well I remember you, Byakuya Kuchiki, practically still in diapers when I last had dinner over your home with your grandpa!" Shinji sniffed. "And now _you're_ a Captain? _All these little-boy captains! _Soon you'll make Ichigo here a captain!"

"Not likely!" Byakuya seethed. "Now get out!"

"Don't worry, Byakuya-kun, I've got him!" It was Shunsui, and he grabbed the enraged Shinji and dragged him away from Ichigo's sick-bed.

"Hey! You have no right to pull me out of there," Shinji yelled as they reached the street outside.

That was it. Shunsui's last nerve just snapped at seeing Hirako Shinji complaining and bitching that he hadn't gotten his decent crack at Aizen._ Ju-kun is missing, injured, in trouble, and I do not want to deal with Shinji's bullshit. _His _reiastu_ flared, and Shunsui growled, "Shut that damned mouth of yours, Shinji! Contrary to popular belief, you are not the only one who got fucked over by your former vice-captain! My Jushiro is missing! I don't care about anything else except getting him back!"

Shinji took one step back. He'd never seen Shunsui act like that before. But he still wasn't going to let Shunsui take his troubles out on him! "What do I care about Ukitake Jushiro, my 'fair weather' friend? When it came right down to it, he was willing to do whatever Daddy-jii wanted him to do and he turned his back on his friends!"

"He never turned his back on you!" Shunsui gasped. "What the hell are you talking about? He sent his squad's best people to go and find you!"

"That's what I'm talking about! _Sensei _snapped his fingers, and Princess Ju-Ju jumped for him! Hunted us down like animals!"

"Yama-jii never told him to send anyone to find you!" Shunsui countered.

"Oh? Well that just makes it worse! Maybe he wanted to drag us all back to Soul Society so we could get executed and he'd get all the credit?" Shinji seethed.

"You fool! Jushiro sent his people out to find you so he could talk to you, gather information, get your side of the story, so he could try and make a case and set it before Central 46 and get that death warrant lifted off you all. He was _desperate to _help you!" Shunsui argued.

Shinji glared at him. "Desperate to help us? Why would he be? That makes no sense! Besides, he ought to know that appealing the decisions of Central 46 is completely useless! They never change their minds! Is he so confident in his powers that he thought he could defy them?"

"He's done it before, Shinji. You know that's how he is! He's always ready to help someone else who needs him! And, there's another reason. It's Lisa."

_"Lisa? _If that's true, then why didn't _you_ send some of Squad Eight out to find her? She was in _your_ squad, wasn't she? She was _your_ girlfriend, wasn't she?" Shinji asked.

"Lisa was my vice-captain, Shinji. I had faith that she would be able to handle the kind of task that Yama-jii was sending you and the others out to accomplish. None of us knew what would happen. Jushiro understood that. But at first, it wasn't easy," Shunsui admitted.

"You didn't exactly answer my question. Wasn't she your girlfriend?" Shinji insisted.

_"Yare, yare! _Is she yours?" Shunsui shot back.

"No! She's comitted to you! That's real nice, that you moved right along while she's stuck reading _hentai_ manga just to relieve her frustrations!" Shinji tattled.

"Really? You mean she's not with anyone else?" Shunsui asked with a growing smile on his face.

"She can't get over you! Although, now that you mention it, she always used to say that it was someone else...Someone who she could not get over, someone she fell in love with. I always thought she was lying. Giving herself an excuse to not look for other victims, er, I mean guys. Like I gave a rat's ass about her little soap opera!" Shinji rambled.

"Hey, you talking about Lisa?" Ichigo snickered as he limped out of Urahara's shop.

"This is grow-up talk, Ichigo. Go back to your playpen with _Byakuya-kun!" _Shinji ordered him.

"No, wait! This discussion will have to wait, Shinji. Ichigo-kun, I...I feel ashamed that I'd even think of asking this of you..." Shunsui began rather humbly.

Ichigo gave him a steady gaze and responded, "I would have been offended if you didn't ask me!"

Shunsui reflected very quickly on his conversation with Genryusai a half hour before...

_"I have to go find him, Yama-jii. I will go alone if I must. I can understand that you don't want to send anyone else into Hueco Mundo," Shunsui had said._

_"Of course you must go, Shunsui-kun. But you should not go alone. I...I cannot bear the thought of losing you both! However, do not take anyone else from Soul Society. Do you understand?" Genryusai advised him._

_"I...yes! I do understand!"_

"I know everyone's been fussing over you the past hour. I understand you got beaten up a lot over there," Shunsui sighed.

"It's no big deal," Ichigo shrugged. _I'm going back to Hueco Mundo if it's the last damned thing I do!_

"Still, you've been there, and I haven't been. I would appreciate it if you could accompany me as my guide," Shunsui requested.

Byakuya emerged from the shop. His deep blue-gray eyes bored into Ichigo's. "You need to give your word that you will do no more fighting there. I understand the urgency of trying to find Ukitake, and I regret that Sotaicho has forbidden us to go, but the timing could not be worse for you. You could very easily die, Kurosaki. And if you do that..." He left it hanging.

"So, you don't think Ukitake's dead either, huh? I knew it, you've been going soft ever since Sokyoku Hill, Byakuya," Ichigo grinned.

Byakuya frosted over, like he usually does. "Rukia will be very upset if you don't come back with her captain. I don't want Rukia upset."

"Whatever, Byakuya," Ichigo sighed. "You know damned well there's no way I'm not coming back, not only with Ukitake-taicho, but also with Orihime!"

"All the better. Then Rukia will have her captain _and_ her friend back," Byakuya answered. "This time, though, she is expressly forbidden to follow you. I cannot disobey the Sotaicho's orders."

"Understood," Ichigo acknowledged with a nod as he watched Byakuya slip back inside the warmly lit shop.

"Ichigo-kun, if you can't fight, it's alright. Just let me do all the fighting," Shunsui advised him.

"I can tell you're serious about this. All the pink is gone..." Ichigo noticed.

"Jushiro and I go back almost two thousand years, Ichigo-kun. I'm very serious about this," Shunsui told him.

"Then, you need me to go with you too!" Shinji declared. Shunsui and Ichigo glared at him. "I can do the extra fighting that Ichigo can't!"

"Uh, he's probably right..." Ichigo admitted. _After all, he's a Visored, isn't he? He's their captain, kindof sortof... _"Were you really a captain, Shinji?"

Shinji's face fell. He hadn't told Ichigo about any of that. "I was captain of Squad Five. Aizen...was my vice-captain. When he betrayed me, he took all of them down with me."

"You mean the rest of the Visoreds? Then, you need to come with us," Ichigo agreed.

"Of course I do! After all, that sack of shit has the only woman I've ever really loved as his captive!" Shinji raged.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You're not still on that crap, are you?"

"It's not crap!" Shinji yelled and whacked Ichigo on the head.

_"Yare, Yare! _This all needs to wait! And I thought I had a complicated love life... We are going tomorrow afternoon."

"Why are we waiting that long?" Shinji complained.

"Because I've been told by a reliable source that a garganta will be opened up in the area that Jushiro had fallen down. We have to be ready to infiltrate Hueco Mundo when it's opened," Shunsui told them.

"Fine, we'll meet here around noon," Shinji decided.

"Until then, get some rest Ichigo. You will need every bit of your strength."

* * *

Jushiro saw a new Arrancar in the chamber before him, who had sandy hair and an eyepatch. Actually, maybe he wasn't a new Arrancar, but had been there in the chamber when Jushiro was first captured. Either way, he was probably the only one who wasn't asleep. But he looked pretty disturbed all the same.

"Hello? Who might you be?" Jushiro asked cheerfully.

"Tesla," was his short answer. "I was fracción to Nnoitra."

"Hmm... Nnoitra? I just heard his name before. Oh! That's right..." Jushiro looked down at Nel sleeping on his lap. "Didn't he do something to her?"

"There's two sides to every story, Shinigami," Tesla declared in a huff. "You don't know anything about it!"

"Regardless, under the circumstances, I'm taking her side, and I warn you, no one harms a child in front of me, Tesla-san, even if you think I can't do anything about it," Jushiro told him with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, don't worry your pathetic self about her right now. I can't get to her because she's on your lap, and you're in that chair, but she's going to have to get out of here sometime...You're a condemned Shinigami; what do you give a shit about Nelliel-Tu Oderschvank anyway?" Tesla asked him.

Grimmjow finally returned and cut into the conversation. "Aizen's...doing weird stuff!" he announced. Tesla's jaw dropped. Grimmjow's blue eyes were wide and filled with absolute fright.

"Grimmjow! Orihime and Ulquiorra? What happened to them?" Jushiro asked urgently.

"They're alright. For now. Aizen wanted her to bring back another one of the Espada, so Ulquiorra's with her again," Grimmjow reported.

"Really? Can it be?" Tesla asked hopefully.

"It's not the Fifth. It's the Ninth," Grimmjow sighed.

"It's not Lord Nnoitra? It's...that _Gillian? _ Why?" Tesla gasped.

"Oh, I see now, you were like Nnoitra's vice-captain, weren't you?" Jushiro asked. "Well, in any case, especially since Aizen isn't using Orihime's power to bring Nnoitra back, then you do not need to continue his unfathomable vendetta against this child! "

"You don't know what you're talking about, Shinigami! I told you to stay the hell out of it! You think she's a cute little girl, but that's only because...you know what, never mind her right now! I cannot abide this! Aaronierro over Nnoitra! Why, Lord Grimmjow?" Tesla asked again, getting more and more upset.

"I have no godly clue, Tesla!" Grimmjow huffed. Jushiro sighed. He knew the answer as to why, because Gin had mentioned a plan to extract information out of him. Bringing this Arrancar back was part of the plan, as Jushiro saw it. But to tell this Tesla that, it would sound so..._arrogant. _"Listen, Ukitake! That kid on your lap, you'd better get her out of here. What if Aizen comes down here and catches her?" Grimmjow scowled.

"Very well, I understand. Wake those two up, they are with her," Jushiro sighed.

"Hey! You two idiots her keepers?" Grimmjow shouted to Dondochakka and Pesche.

"Hmmmhuh?" Dondochakka roused and rubbed his massive eyes, then blinked. "Oh, No!" he gasped when he saw Tesla and Grimmjow standing over Jushiro's chair. "Nel!"

"Nel-chan! I'm sorry, but you must wake up now," Jushiro warned her. He shifted his legs slightly, so the sleeping child would feel her "bed" moving and she'd awaken. It worked. She popped her eyes open, and she stared up at Jushiro's slightly worried face. "Nel-chan, you must go to your brothers now."

"No! I don't wanna leave the nice Shinigami captain!" she sobbed at once, then gripped his captain's haori.

"I know, my poor Nel-chan! But you must understand, Aizen is going to come down here, because...well, he's got some things he wants to ask me. If he sees you here, I'm afraid for you. Besides, I have a job for you. Do you want to hear it?" Jushiro asked.

"A..a job for Nel! Tell Nel!" she demanded at once, sniffling.

"Well, see, what you have to do is..." Jushiro began. He whispered some very specific instructions for her. Then, he asked, "Do you think you can remember all that?"

"Nel's got it! Pesche! Catch Nel!" she called to him, then launched her little self into Pesche's arms.

"Oops, Infinite Slick!" he said, releasing her and letting her slide across the smooth floor and giggle madly while covered with Pesche's Infinite Slick. Grimmjow watched with a slightly horrified expression, while Jushiro just grinned widely.

But Tesla had other ideas. He was about to draw his zanpakuto, and Jushiro noticed this. So, he suddenly bellowed, "Bakudo # 63: _Sajo Sabaku!" _Tesla found his arms wrapped to his sides with a glowing chain. "I warned you to leave her alone, Tesla-san." Jushiro explained quietly.

Nel was too busy having fun and remembering her job that Jushiro gave her to worry much about Tesla. "Hey Dondachakka, we need BawaBawa!" Nel told him.

"Bawawhat?" Grimmjow scowled.

"Don't ask," Tesla muttered darkly. Dondachakka opened his mouth widely, and a huge purple, oversized wormlike creature emerged from it.

"BawaBawa!" Nel cried. All three of them leaped onto BawaBawa's back, then Nel said, "Bye, nice Shinigami Captain! I'll tell Itsygo you said hello!" Then, they slid out the huge gap in the tower wall that had been left by Yammy's _bala._

"I've officially seen everything now," Grimmjow declared.

"Yes, especially since you've also seen Szayel eat one of his own fracción before," Jushiro pointed out.

"I bet I wind up as one of his fracción!" Tesla cried unhappily. "Especially after this!" He gestured to the Winding Binding Chains.

"Hey, I just got an idea, Tesla! How about you become my fracción?" Grimmjow suggested.

"Huh? You sure about that? What if, by some off chance, Lord Aizen has the woman bring back Lord Nnoitra?" Tesla asked.

"Chuh! That son of a bitch Nnoitra tried to behead me! If you promise not to bother about that bastard again, you can be my fracción. Got it?" Grimmjow said to him.

Jushiro watched in amusement as Tesla grit his teeth and said, "Fine!"

"Grimmjow! What a great idea! It seems as though the Arrancars need to restructure rather badly, don't they?" Jushiro pointed out.

"I saw Yammy and Starrk fighting. Since when did they fight eachother? Why is Lord Aizen bringing back certain Arrancars, but not others? And why in hell can this Shinigami do _kido_ spells while tied up in a deathstone chair?" Tesla ranted.

"As for your first question, Aizen had lost his mind. As for your second question, ditto. And as for the third, well, no one has figured it out yet, that's all," Jushiro teased Tesla.

"It seesm to me that if you have been or are a Shinigami, you lose your mind from it," Tesla spat.

"Which ought to worry you, since Arrancars have been blessed with the zanpakuto, which, I'm sure any Shinigami can tell you, has the potential to bring their sanity to an end," Jushiro smirked. He lifted his hand still bound to the arm of the stone chair, and the Winding Binding Chain dissolved around Tesla.

"Aizen hasn't just lost his mind like people sometimes do, Tesla. He...did something," Grimmjow admitted.

"What did he do, Grimmjow?" Jushiro asked quietly.

"I saw.." he started, but couldn't finish. A weird moaning type sound echoed through the chamber. It didn't sound like it came from anything living. "What the hell?" he asked with dread.

"Lord Grimmjow, we need to get out of here, right away!" Tesla warned him. "That sound is coming from the building. That blast in the wall has made this tower structurally unsound. It's going to fall down!"

"Oh, damn! What about Ukitake? And what about everyone else upstairs?" Grimmjow asked helplessly.

"Don't panic, Grimmjow. I think I've got an idea," Jushiro told him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ulquiorra went on his way back downstairs to the chamber where Ukitake was being held. _"Ulquiorra, join Grimmjow downstairs. I will take Orihime-chan back to my chambers when she is done with this." _Those were Aizen-sama's exact words. Ulquiorra nearly stumbled as he took yet another step down. He placed his pale white hands over his chest, one over the other, as if to keep his heart from falling into a thousand pieces out of his chest and all over the staircase. He knew, intellectually, that his thoughts regarding Orihime were ultimately useless, and perhaps, if he were to ever even express them, suicidal. _However, it does not matter how tidy your mind is when it is your heart that is the culprit. My heart. How awful my existence has become because she's shown me where to find my heart!_

On his way down, thinking these miserable thoughts, he felt the building rumble under his feet and around his body. It was as though the earth under the building was shifting, making the tower sway. But he knew immediately that wasn't the case. He heard the voices from the lower chamber echoing, and Grimmjow, Tesla and Ukitake all came to the same conclusion: the building was about to collapse.

_"Don't panic, Grimmjow. I think I've got an idea," _he overheard the Shinigami captain say. Ulquiorra stopped cold and almost, almost smiled. _That Shinigami is brilliant! I would never admit this to him, but he's brilliant! Looks like Aizen-sama's plans to take Orihime are about to get thwarted!_

_How wonderful!_

"I'm getting her now!" Ulquiorra called down, then turned to race back up the stairs.

"Ulquiorra, get Orihime out of here!" Grimmjow called back up, and Ulquiorra barely heard him. He was overjoyed that the building was about to collapse, and that the ony person who could stop it would be Orihime... Whisking her away without a word of apology or explanation to Ichimaru-sama gave Ulquiorra a thrill he hadn't expected to ever have. This defiance of Aizen-sama's orders to remain downstairs with Ukitake made him feel proud. And the best part is, Aizen-sama cannot complain, since it is his tower that needs Orihime's abilities now!

"Ulquiorra, _what the fuck are you doing? _Get her out of here!" Grimmjow yelled at him when they appeared in the chamber downstairs again.

"If we let the building collapse, Ukitake will be crushed under it. I doubt we can release him from the chair. We cannot lift it certainly, nor can we use any kind of _reiatsu_ to move the chair out, since it absorbs _reiatsu. _If we keep the building intact, we avoid all those problems. Orihime, can you reverse the damage to the wall?" Ulquiorra asked her.

"I'm going to try! _Soten Kisshun, I reject!" _Orihime's words brought forth the two flowers Ayame and Shun'o. They flew into separate paths, Shun'o above the highest point of the hole in the wall, and Ayame near the floor. Their golden light covered the entire area.

Gin stumbled down and gasped at the sight of Orihime's powers being used on the wall. "So _that's_ what's going on!" He still had his face mostly covered, and he was hiding behind the doorway, only peeking into the chamber.

"Ulquiorra was very quick thinking to bring her back down here, wasn't he?" Jushiro asked Gin.

"So quick I didn't even know what was going on! Is it working?" he asked irritably.

"I...I don't know yet," Orihime admitted.

"Well, at least the building hasn't moved again," Tesla pointed out. And just then, it did. _"Shit, spoke too soon!"_

"Tesla, if Ulquiorra won't get her out of here, then your first job as my fracción is to get her out!" Grimmjow told him.

"Orihime, if it's not working, you mustn't put your life at risk on my account!" Jushiro told her.

"No! It'll be okay, Ukitake-taicho!" Orihime called back to him.

"All this fuss, just because you won't just die in that chair! Sosuke doesn't want to lose your _reiatsu. _So, I'll help," Gin told him, then pointed up above his head. "Bakudo # 37: _Tsuriboshi!" _he said, and the Suspending Star appeared, blocking the view of the ceiling with what looked like a canopy of _reishi._

"Will that hold if the wall crumbles, Lord Ichimaru?" Tesla asked.

"Probably not completely, but it should help for the time being. Besides, she's making progress now..." Gin responded. "On another subject, Ukitake! I guess you heard that a new Arrancar's meeting you! I can't wait until you see him!"

"I'm looking forward to it, Ichimaru! Just out of curiosity, since you had to bring him back using Orihime's powers, I was wondering who had killed him," Jushiro asked.

"Heh, it was Rukia-chan who did him in last time," Gin grinned, his trademark smile hidden by his hood.

"Do you intend on me fighting him?" Jushiro asked.

"You won't want to fight him, that I can tell you for sure!"

"Most intriguing!" Jushiro grinned.

Sosuke finally made his entrance. "Never a dull moment with you around, is there?"

"It's true, I simply won't allow it," Jushiro joked. Sosuke didn't respond, and Jushiro watched as long as he could until the villainous Shinigami reached Orihime, who was behind the chair, and thus, out of Jushiro's physical sight. Jushiro noted that Sosuke looked rather normal for someone who had, just a short while ago, done something very life altering to himself. The elder Shinigami closed his eyes lightly.

Sosuke felt that creeping feeling at the back of his head again. It was a sensation he really hated. But this time, he realized at once what was causing it. "Cut it out Ukitake," he growled.

"Cut what out?" Jushiro asked a bit mischievously.

"You know what! Knock it off, or I'll..."

"You'll what? Kill me?"

"Smart ass!" Sosuke grumbled. He decided to become a bit more brazen. He sauntered over to Orihime and started very subtly smoothing his hand across the back of her shoulders.

"Aizen! Get your hand off her!" Jushiro demanded. Ulquiorra, who had been watching sadly as Sosuke had started touching Orihime, gasped as silently as he could. He was certain that Ukitake hadn't been able to physically see them, nor could he have heard such a gesture. So how did he know? Ulquiorra was intrigued in spite of the danger. He glanced behind him, then again at Orihime. He saw that Sosuke had taken his hand off her shoulder. So he turned around again. He narrowed his eyes to look at the back of the stone chair, and he could not see Jushiro at all. Ulquiorra figured, correctly, that Jushiro couldn't have turned his head around, and he couldn't have peeked through a hole even if he could. But then, Ulquiorra heard Jushiro yell again, "I told you to stop touching her, Aizen!" Ulquiorra's head whipped back around to Orihime, and sure enough, Sosuke had resumed massaging Orihime's shoulder again. She was trembling ever so slightly even though she was concentrating on the wall's repair.

Whether Sosuke was doing it because he meant it or whether it was just to aggravate Jushiro hardly mattered to Ulquiorra. He only knew that Jushiro was seeing things that were obviously not in front of his eyes. Ulquiorra could not understand this. He appeared in front of Jushiro in the chair a half-second later.

"What are you doing? How are you seeing things that you cannot see?" Ulquiorra demanded.

"I posess the third eye, Ulquiorra! It helps me see things that my other two eyes cannot," Jushiro explained. "Haven't you ever heard of that? You have a third eye, too!"

"Where is it? Where are you hiding it? I can't see it! Where is that _'third eye?' _I demand to know where you have it!" Ulquiorra carried on while seeking to claw out Jushiro's eyes.

Sosuke appeared just then and brushed the Arrancar back effortlessly. Then, Sosuke drove his fist straight into Jushiro's face. "I warned you over and over again that whatever you are planning to do is useless! Why are you telling Ulquiorra about the sixth sense? He only believes in what is in front of him!"

"Not anymore, he doesn't," Jushiro answered through his bleeding nose.

_"You meddlesome old bastard!" _Sosuke snarled. The walls began to vibrate as Sosuke started releasing his reiatsu very slowly.

"Hey Aizen, you gottat stop that!" Grimmjow yelled as he was suddenly suddenly thrown onto the marble floor from Sosuke's _reiatsu_. Orihime screamed. Ayame and Shun'o were still working on the hole in the tower, but because of Sosuke's losing control, they were faltering.

"Sosuke! I can't hold up the whole damned tower!" Gin yelled, letting his blanket fall from his face for just an instant. Jushiro got the glimpse, though he doubted anyone else had.

Suddenly, the vibration stopped as Sosuke remembered himself and blocked the flow of _reiatsu_ to a tiny trickle. "You're right, Gin. I've had enough of this son of a bitch," he declared, pointing at Jushiro. "Grimmjow, keep Tesla down here with you until Aaroniero comes here to relieve you. Ulquiorra, as soon as Orihime is finished here...take her back to her chamber, and lock yourselves in. Don't let anyone else in, not even me."

"Well, that's an improvement! It seems you are fearful of losing control over yourself. If it helps you keep your hands off an innocent young lady, so much the better," Jushiro said with a slightly triumphant tone even as his blood dripped off his chin.

Sosuke didn't take the bait. Orihime's eyes were already nearly popping out of her head because he'd punched Jushiro in the face._ I can ill afford to have her any more frightened of me. The damage done now would take weeks to fix as it is. _"If he starts any more trouble, get me from upstairs. If I have to stay down here a second longer, I might kill him by accident and his_ reiatsu _will be lost to me." In disgust, Sosuke left.

Grimmjow was still bowed before the chair. Jushiro made no sound at all, though his face hurt badly and it was quite bloodied up. Slowly, Grimmjow peeked up at Jushiro, saw the state he was in, and found himself wanting to howl and growl at the same time. "He could have killed you! You know that, don't you, you moron? He could have killed you!"

"Nah. Even I, weakling that I am, won't go down that easily," Jushiro sighed.

"Are you going to be okay?" Orihime asked him.

"I'll be fine, Orihime-chan. It's just a broken nose. I've had that happen a couple of times over the years," Jushiro reassured her.

"I'm not surprised. None of us would dare piss Lord Aizen off like that," Tesla pointed out.

"Speak for yourself!" Ulquiorra growled.

"You didn't like what Aizen was doing, did you?" Jushiro asked Ulquiorra.

"I'm taking her to her chamber, now, and locking him out!" Ulquiorra announced.

"And you will take great pleasure in doing so," Jushiro added soflty. Ulquiorra shot Jushiro one last look with his green eyes, then escorted Orihime out before she could try to heal him with her powers which she's already been warned would turn out disastrously.

When Ulquiorra reached Orihime's chamber, he swiftly swept her into his arms and carried her in. He placed her on her sofa, then he shut the door. With his finger, he traced a green line of power around the four sides of the door, then took out his zanpakuto, Murciélago, and drove it into the floor, sealing the door locked.

"Ooh, I guess no one can come in here now. Or go out, for that matter," Orihime commented.

"Don't be silly, Orihime. We can leave anytime we wish, by me removing Murciélago from the floor," Ulquiorra explained to her flatly.

"Do you think Ukitake-taicho will be alright?"

"I do. He is strong, Orihime. Far stronger than Aizen-sama gives him credit for being. As long as that trash Grimmjow and Tesla are taking care of him." Ulquiorra approached the sofa, and sat down on the floor before Orihime's feet.

"Wh..why did he try to help me? Why did he have to get hurt on account of me? Ulquiorra-kun, it was just like...when my father used to..." Orihime broke down into tears.

_That heart, that heart, that damned heart! My chest now hurts when I see Orihime cry! My heart in my hands wants to reach to her face and wipe the tears away. The heart in my voice wants to tell her..._

"You're safe here, Orihime. No one will ever hurt you here," Ulquiorra told her, letting his heart speak for the first time. Just a little while ago, he'd been filled with fear of letting his heart speak, thinking that the very act would be suicidal. Now, however, because of that Shinigami downstairs, Ulquiorra felt as though he might be able to tell Orihime about the heart she'd helped him discover. "As for Ukitake, I'd kiss his feet if I dared, for keeping you safe. Grimmjow and I had been worried for a while that Aizen-sama might decide to take you to his chamber.."

Orihime shuddered, not for the first time tonight, Ulquiorra noted. "He-you mean he wanted to...with me?" Orihime squeaked in terror. "Oh no! OH NO! I'd never survive it! I just know it! He'd kill me in the middle of it, I bet! Especially when he found out I didn't want to do that with him and that I don't love him! He's going to kill me anyway now, isn't he?"

"Orihime, he'd have to get through me first..." Ulquiorra began to say, but then, a terrible banging against the door interrupted their conversation.

Orihime screamed as a voice rapsed, _"Orihime! Orihime, I want her, give her to me, give her to me NOW!"_ Ulquiorra grit his teeth and rushed to the door. He placed his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto, and the green light around the door glowed more brightly. The door banged in a strange rhythm, all at once foreign and yet oddly very familiar. _Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang,_ then a stop and a howl, then the banging would resume again. Ulquiorra drew his brows down, seething, and the green light filled the whole room, despite a huge crash that made the walls around the door crack.

"Ulquiorra-kun! Watch out!" Orihime cried. He responded by filling the cracks with his power, his malachite glow. In sheer fright, Orihime's jaw was drooping open and she was shuddering from head to toe. Ulquiorra doubled his efforts, and abruptly, the emergency ended. A shriek down the hall was the only sound they could hear, and eventually, even that receded into nothingness.

Ulquiorra did not grin, but did pull Murciélago from the floor and for just a moment reflect on his zanpaukto's power and feel glad of it. Because of it, he was able to save Orihime from a terrible assault. He turned back to the human who had forever changed his outlook on life and death, and reached to her. She grasped his hands in desperation for safety, sobbing. Ulquiorra joined her on the sofa, and she buried her head into his chest.

"Oh, Ulquiorra-kun, one of these days, we have to go to Karakura Town again. We have to get some donuts, and eat them. Have you ever had a donut?" Orihime asked.

"Does eating such things make you feel better? Is that why you want me to eat them too?" Ulquiorra asked her. "Will that make you happy? To go back to Karakura Town? With me?"

"Oh, Ulquiorra-kun! You need to meet my friend Tatsuki! She's always protecting me too! But at least one time I got to protect her. I never got to protect you even once!" Orihime observed.

"Now you are back to talking silliness. I have never needed your protection. I needed you to do something I could never do. You brought me back to life! Did you forget that?" Ulquiorra sat up, and Orihime watched him as he rose from the sofa. "I must protect you, I cannot do anything else! If you die, I cannot bring you back to life!"

"But Ulquiorra-kun, I can't just keep letting you get killed, going through all that pain and suffering, only to have me bring you back to life again, just so it keeps on going over and over! That's not fair to you!" Orihime protested.

Ulquiorra shook his head. "I will protect you forever." He raised his hands up to show them to her. "These hands are yours now. My life is yours now. My soul is yours. My powers are yours. You are my purpose, you are my reason, therefore, I am yours. This is because of my heart, in my hands. You have my heart in your hands, now."

Orihime stared back up at Ulquiorra, into those emerald eyes that he had just declared were hers. She could take his words as an Arrancar would mean them, that he'd be using his powers in her service, and all that. Or, she could take his words as a human might mean them...

* * *

"You are unreal, do you know that?" Grimmjow scowled at Jushiro. "Tesla, get some water and towels or something to clean him up. We can't just leave him like that." Without a word, Tesla left.

"Is something on your mind, Grimmjow?" Jushiro asked.

"It's been five hours since I was put on duty. I'm not supposed to stay behind after that."

"It's alright," Jushiro replied. "I can't sense too much _reiatsu _while sitting here. Do you think Starrk or Yammy are done fighting eachother?"

"They're far off, outside Las Noches. I can sense them both. So, no, they're not done fighting. I know they will fight to the death. Starrk isn't about to let anyone destroy him, even if he's the laziest bum I've ever met."

"Lord Grimmjow! Look what I found in the kitchen! Peanut butter and tuna!" Tesla said in excitement. Not only did he have the towels and a bowl of warm water, he brought some food from the kitchen. It was Orihime cuisine, but still it was food.

"You. Are. Awesome!" Grimmjow said happily, and Tesla beamed.

"Wow, Lord Nnoitra never said I was awesome!" Tesla said thoughtfully as he gave Grimmjow the towels and water.

"See how well this is working out already?" Jushiro said with a painful grin, then saw Grimmjow approaching. "Grimmjow, be careful; I don't want you getting hurt on my account!"

"Will you just shut the fuck up, Shinigami? Let me clean you up!" Jushiro kept silent as Grimmjow started wiping all the blood off his face. "Here, now, let me fix this..." Grimmjow told him as he took Jushiro's nose and straightened it as best he could. Jushiro started to bleed again. "Aww, crap!" Grimmjow huffed.

"Don't worry, I actually feel a lot better now, Grimmjow."

"Yeah, but now I gotta...Owww! Aaaah!" Grimmjow howled. His legs merely rested against the side of the chair where he had been leaning over, wiping Jushiro's face.

_"Grimmjow! Get away from the chair!" _Jushiro cried. Grimmjow staggered back and screamed out in order to release the pain of his very brief contact with the stone of the chair. "Grimmjow, are you alright? I'm so sorry!"

"What the fuck are you apologizing for when I'm the clumsy dumb-ass here?" Grimmjow bellowed.

"Lord Grimmjow, maybe I should take over," Tesla offered.

"No! I'm going to finish what I started! And then, we're gonna give him something to eat, even if it's something Ulquiorra suspects he might not like," Grimmjow told Tesla.

"Lord Grimmjow, are you sure we're supposed to give this Shinigami food?" Tesla asked him.

"You're probably not supposed to, and you shouldn't get yourselves into trouble on my account," Jushiro said hurriedly.

"We're already in trouble; we're cleaning you up! It's the least we can do after what you just did for us." Grimmjow said.

"I didn't do anything," Jushiro protested.

"Yes you did! You have no idea what Aizen had planned..." Grimmjow breathed with dread at the thought...

"Yes. If only Barragan had stood up to Lord Aizen as much as you do," Tesla said quietly, as though still worried that Sosuke might hear him.

"I figure you know him way better than we do. You aren't afraid of him. When virtually every Arrancar and Hollow in Hueco Mundo is frightened of him and his sword, you show no fear of him at all," Grimmjow observed, then Tesla brought the peanut butter and tuna that Orihime had prepared a little while ago.

"No chocolate sauce, right?" Jushiro joked.

"And no pepper," Grimmjow pointed out.

"Sorry, but I couldn't find any in the kitchen!" Tesla fretted. Grimmjow just smirked then put the sandwich to Jushiro's lips. He took a tentative bite, chewed it thoughtfully, then swallowed it. "Whatever else Orihime-san might or might not be, she's a great cook, isn't she?" Tesla said, nodding.

Jushiro wanted to answer. But his mouth seemed sort of stuck together.

"What are you two doing to my captain?" an eerie, mechanical, sing-song voice echoed through the chamber. Grimmjow and Tesla turned around, frowning.

"You're here early, Aaroniero," Grimmjow sneered.

"Tosen-sama wants to start this interrogation as soon as possible," Aaroniero replied.

"Well, he'll wait until we finish feeding the prisoner," Grimmjow spat.

"I have my orders, Grimmjow, which override your rank, so step aside," Aaroniero told him.

"Oh, yeah! Well I've got a _cero_ just waiting to be shoved right up your ass," Grimmjow growled. "Tesla, take over!" Grimmjow's fracción took the sandwich feeding over, and Grimmjow strode right up to Aaroniero. "Tosen doesn't scare Ukitake one damned bit. He's not even afraid of_ Aizen, _so he's not going to give a fat shit about _Tosen!"_

"Nevertheless, he _will_ talk. I know him. Well. I'd even venture to say I've known him way before you were born, Grimmjow. It won't be fear of Tosen that will make him speak to me, either. So, stand aside," Aaroniero told him one last time.

"It's alright, Grimmjow. But you're right about one thing. I'm not fearful of Kaname, nor of Sosuke. If there's anyone I'd be ever so slightly worried over, it would be Gin. And that is because the boy is fearfully intelligent," Jushiro told them all.

"Isn't he? It was his idea to bring me back," Aaroniero said from behind his Hollow mask. "Are we ready, then, Captain?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Jushiro answered, watching Aaroniero walk toward him.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

This new Arrancar had a long flowing white overcoat with a ruffled collar, but the most distinctive thing about him was his very tall mask. "Look at you, sitting there, like a king on his throne! Let me bow before you," Aaroniero said with those odd, warped voices, and Jushiro watched in confusion as the Arrancar proceeded to take a formal bow. When he rose, he said, "You are paler than I remember you. A bit thinner too. You've had a bout with your illness recently, haven't you? You just got over it before the war began, am I right? You let your hair get a bit longer too, now that I've had a chance to look at you more carefully..."

"So you know me, somehow?" Jushiro asked.

Aaroniero answered, "Oh yes, Taicho. I know you. I remember you. I only pray that you remember me..." The Arrancar took off his mask…and then, a very stunning sight came to Jushiro's eyes.

"K…Kaien? Kaien?" Jushiro stammered. He absolutely could not believe what he was seeing. His lost vice-captain, who he thought had been consumed by a Hollow forty years ago. No, he hadn't thought it, it had happened, right in front of him! There was no mistaking it! _How can my vice-captain be standing before me now after such horror had consumed him and his beloved wife?_

"Taicho! It's me!" Kaien the Arrancar stared back at Jushiro with those turquoise eyes, seeming a bit more shamed at his current state with every passing second, as the waves of realization hit the captain one at a time.

_"How?" _Jushiro asked.

"You mean, how can I be here, now, in front of you, even though Rukia-san had killed me? Well, how I wish I could tell you that I prevailed, somehow, against my dark fate, but alas, I cannot."

"What do you mean?" Jushiro said, though as he said it, he sadly thought of Kurasaki Ichigo for a moment. _I was so sure! I was so sure, from the very first moment I saw him on that bridge, that he was my Kaien that had come back to us! I had thought that his soul had been spared from the terrible fate that had befallen the rest of his spirit body and his mind! _"How can you be an Arrancar? Kaien! You mean, that Hollow that consumed you kept you? You mean he took you to Hueco Mundo? Oh, Kaien!"

"Your eyes hold deep sorrow in them. How I hate that I cause you to feel that way! I who served you proudly, to now cause you such agony. I'm so sorry, Taicho!" this Arrancar wept as he fell to his knees again. He was close enough so that Jushiro could see the tear rolling down Kaien's face. "But they are making me do it."

"Kaien? What are they making you do?" Jushiro asked, unable to keep the tears from flowing down his own pale cheeks.

"The only reason that I have been brought back was so that I could get your answers as to what you are really doing here, and to why the deathstone isn't working! I know that you wanted to try to save me, all those years ago. You were reluctant to destroy my body that Metastacia had consumed. And then, you got a fit of coughing. Do you remember?" he asked Jushiro.

"I'll always remember that terrible night, Kaien. Rukia-san still has nightmares about that night!" Jushiro told him.

"My life is so tenuous, but there is still hope. You have one last chance to save me, Taicho. Though I will still have to serve Aizen forever, at least I shall be able to keep this life, if you answer my questions with the truth. Please, Taicho, I beg you, let me live!"

_Something is...off. Ichigo acts more like Kaien did than this Arrancar does. _"Kaien, would that really help to make it up to you for what I allowed to happen to you that night? Would you truly be at peace?" Jushiro asked.

"Taicho, yes, I promise you, that would make it up to me," the Arrancar answered.

_Wrong answer, Monster! You might know some details of that night, you might have Kaien's face, but you do not possess his precious soul. If you did, you would never say something like that to me. I knew you so well. I knew you would have wanted to fight that battle that night yourself. I only felt inadequate because poor Rukia got burdened with performing the killing blow. I know full well you, the REAL you, would have rather died under my blade under those circumstances. In that way, yes, I did fail you miserably that night. But Kaien, the real Shiba Kaien, would never beg for life just to serve under someone like Aizen!_

_But if Ichimaru is so desperate to get this information as to resort to this, who am I to deny him?_

"Kaien, I don't mind telling you anything you need to know," Jushiro said with a kind smile. "Ask anything you need."

"Oh, Taicho, thank you, thank you so much!" the Arrancar wept.

_I will not be distracted by his tears. They aren't real... _"For starters, I don't mind telling you that I was not really captured by Wonderwiess, I infiltrated Las Noches," Jushiro volunteered.

He watched the face of Kaien light up. "Taicho! Why did you do that?" he gasped.

"Because I wanted to know for myself what was going on here. What kind of condition Inoue-san was in. And besides, you know what I can do. My efforts are enhanced by Aizen's own foolishness. He's turning one Arrancar against the other! You must be so careful not to get yourself mixed up in his plans, Kaien-dono!"

"Taicho, you're being so kind!" Kaien's voice breathed.

Suddenly, the first ray of dawn beamed down, and Kaien the Arrancar gasped and moved back very quickly. "Kaien, it's only the sun. I didn't know that there is sun in Hueco Mundo!" Jushiro commented.

"Las Noches has a fake daytime, under it's immense dome. What you think is 'outside' isn't outside at all, it's just an illusion," the Arrancar explained. "But, unfortunately, it causes me troubles. The Hollow that consumed me grows weaker in sunlight. That's why I can't stand in sunlight."

_Yes, all just an illusion. Aizen with his cruel illusions... _Jushiro sighed. "It has been so long since I've seen your face. I just wish I could see it more closely, that's all. But if it will cause you discomfort, then of course, you mustn't approach me, since I can see that the sun is shining over my chair here."

"As soon as the sun has moved positions, I'll return. But, in the meantime, if you could answer some more of my questions?"

"Ask away," Jushiro smiled.

"Why did you feel the need to come down here? Did you sense some sort of weakness in Aizen's defenses?" he asked.

"Good question! And here I thought you were going to go straight to why the chair's powers aren't working on me," Jushiro commented.

"Oh, I'll be getting to that. It's just that in the very short time I've been revived I've noticed a vast difference around here."

"It's like I said, you know what I can do. I bet you probably don't even have to ask why I'm not dead yet, you've probably already figured it out."

"What? Why do you say that?" Kaien's face grew very worried.

"Well, Kaien, you were top of your class at the Academy! You took all the accelerated classes, outstripped your peers. In fact the only one who might have surpassed your feats in schooling was Ichimaru!"

"Oh, that! Well, you know I was never one to speak much about that..." Kaien's face fell even further.

_Ooh, score one for this monster who stole my Kaien's face! _"As much as that's true, it doesn't change the fact that you must have figured this all out by now. But, I don't mind talking about it with you. In truth, I'm rather anxious to get out of this chair at some point."

"I...I cannot release you from it!" the Arrancar pointed out. "As much as I want to, I can't!"

"You're right about that! Once someone is in this chair, the binds will not be undone, not by anyone trying to release me, certainly!"

"So...I don't understand! Why do you think you'll be able to get out of the chair if I can't get you out?" Aaroniero gasped.

"Because Sosuke is completely correct. I did something pre-emptive before I got here, anticipating that Aizen might have a device like this chair. He got a hold of some deathstone and had this chair made by Szayel based on some instructions that someone quite evil and mad had written down long ago and the document was filed along with literally millions of other pages in the vast library of the Soul Society. Evil minds apparently think alike. He must really hate all of us to have decided to use this chair to destroy us and extract our_ reiatsu _in such a barbaric manner!" Jushiro lamented.

"What did you do?" Kaien's voice asked, almost holding his breath.

"Well, didn't you notice something was missing? Oh, I apologize, you hadn't been brought back as of that time... Well, anyway, something of mine was missing when I made my infamous entrance into this chamber," Jushiro prompted him.

Kaien's face grew very thoughtful. And suddenly, the dawning of the answer lit up his turquoise eyes. _"Sogyo no Katawari!"_

Jushiro smiled. "That's right! My zanpakuto was missing!"

"Oh, but you had been injured by Wonderweiss, hadn't you? Surely, in order for that to have happened, you zanpakuto had to have been shattered, hadn't it? Oh, but you infiltrated, that's right! So, you must have hidden it!"

"Bingo!" Jushiro smiled even more broadly, and he had that mischievous glint in his hazel eyes again.

"How clever of you! But, where did you hide it?" Kaien's voice was laced with excitement.

"Well, now, if I told you exactly where it is, that wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" Jushiro teased.

"I...I'm worried that this might not be enough information!"

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you anymore. Not without anyone going to look for it."

Kaien's face grew very pained. "Taicho, you remember how it was with us, don't you? You could trust me with anything! You never held back with me..." Jushiro watched as the Arrancar approached him. He carefully stepped around the space where sunlight gleamed on the dusty marble floor. "I was one of the only people, besides Kyoraku, perhaps, that you didn't have to hide your true self from him. And I didn't have to hide it either..." Jushiro's eyes widened as Kaien's face drew closer and closer until...

"Hmmm, tuna fish and peanut butter..." Kaien's chuckle filled Jushiro's ears, and right after that, the Arrancar's lips descended on Jushiro's and his hand gripped Jushiro's chin to keep him from turning his head away.

"Mmmph!" Jushiro protested, and then, a teal and white blur sailed right past his face, and just as abruptly, Kaien's face was gone as well.

"What are you doin'? Gettin' funny with him, you pervert!" Grimmjow roared as he pinned Aaroniero to the ground. They were lined right up with the sunlight streaming from the high window, and Aaroniero's true faces began to appear as Kaien's melted off!

_"Tosen-sama, help me!" _Aaroniero's sing-song voices screamed.

"Grimmjow, get off him now!" Tosen Kaname yelled, coming into the chamber. Grimmjow snarled and released Aaroniero.

But Jushiro was the most furious of the lot, by far. "I knew you weren't Kaien as soon as I heard you speak. You might think you're a good doppleganger of him, but you're far from it! He and I never had that kind of a relationship! Even if you spoke more like him, acted more like him, I knew you weren't him, because you never once mentioned his beloved wife! Kaien died trying to avenge his wife's honor. He would never have asked for life under those circumstances! When I think of how you have defiled him, Metastacia, it makes me want to retch! I will avenge him, myself! You have his memories, or, at least, some of them, and I want them back!"

"How are you going to do that, when you will be dead?" Kaname asked coolly. "Was this the truth that you told him? That your zanpakuto's abscence is what is preventing you from dying?"

"Yes," Jushiro answered. "Don't you remember, Tosen? Oh, that's right, you all were planning to fake Sosuke's death then, you didn't have time. You see, when my officer Kuchiki was imprisoned in the Tower of Repentance, her zanpakuto had been destroyed. That's always the first thing the Punishment Squad makes sure of, whenever they are going to seriously imprison someone in order to execute them; they make sure the zanpakuto is destroyed and the Tower's deathstone outer walls prevent it from being reconstructed! If the zanpakuto isn't with the prisoner, or destroyed, then the deathstone doesn't work!"

"Where is it?" Kaname asked.

"Sogyo no Katawari has a message for you and Gin and Sosuke-_'Your'e It!'" _Jushiro said.

"You're going to make this a game?" Kaname asked angrily.

"I'll give you a clue. I was in the Living World when I hid it," Jushiro supplied helpfully.

"That much is rather obvious! Grimmjow, I'm taking Tesla and Aaroniero with me to the Living World to search the area where we captured Ukitake. Tesla, I'll be opening the garganta in a few minutes. Gather one or two more Arrancar to form a team and meet me outside Las Noches." Tesla gave Grimmjow a helpless look, and Grimmjow reluctantly nodded.

When they all left, Grimmjow stared at Jushiro. "What's on your mind? I thought you had been ordered to leave!" Jushiro asked.

"Like hell I was going to leave you! Oh, Ukitake, what have you done? You're going to die if they find your zanpakuto and destroy it! What are you going to do?" Grimmjow gasped.

"Grimmjow! They'll never find my zanpakuto!" Jushiro reassured him with a laugh.

"How can you be so sure?" Grimmjow asked.

"I just needed Tosen to open a garganta. The rest will take care of itself..." Jushiro told him with that mischevious glint again.

_to be continued_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Ichigo first saw them at the meeting place at noon the next day, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Shinji and Shunsui was squabbling as though they'd known eachother forever.

"Oh, man, you even text like an old fart! You're not supposed to use your _fingers! _You're supposed to use your _thumbs!" _Shinji complained.

"Oh! Well, how am I supposed to do that?" Shunsui complained, holding what looked like a Blackberry, which very well might have been Shinji's. The Soul Society had far more advanced technology than the Living World, but it was different, and it had provided Ichigo with many a laugh at the expense of the clueless Shinigami trying to use some of the Living World's tech. "Give me a Hell Butterfly anyday over that thing!" Shunsui finally grumbled in defeat, handing the Blackberry back to Shinji, while a piece of dark clothing was draped over his other arm.

"Uh, what are you doin'?" Ichigo asked. "Trying to send me yet another text message? You know how much deleting I had to do last night, you psycho?"

"Well, you can't blame me! After the treatment we got yesterday, there's no way I can just keep hanging out over here while Aizen is LOL in Hueco Mundo," Shinji complained.

"What exactly happened here yesterday?" Ichigo asked.

"Yamamoto had them in the Flame Fortress, or whatever he calls it, and then some über-hollow Sta-Puft thingie came out of a _garganta,_ sucked all the flames away-" Shinji began.

"Along with a child Arrancar who had been the one to strike down Jushiro," Shunsui cut in.

"Oh, shit, so that's what everyone was so worried about," Ichigo breathed.

"And then, just like this, Aizen goes, 'Lulz, I just Rick Roll'd you bitches!' and left!" Shinji complained bitterly.

"I don't remember him saying anything about a rick rolling around..." Shunsui mused with a slight frown.

"Ichigo, you sure you still wanna go with this relic? I was trying to teach him my l33t txt skillz, but he's 3P1C PH41L," Shinji reported.

"Excuse me, Shinji, while I remind you that you are a scant one hundred and fifty years younger than I," Shunsui said in a deceptively mild tone. Ichigo didn't have a great deal of experience working with Kyoraku Shunsui, other than right after Rukia was rescued and Aizen was revealed to be a traitor. He knew that he and Ukitake were best friends, and that they were old students of Yamamoto's. He'd heard rumors that he was a unrepentant womanizer and very likely an alcoholic. He'd even offered Sado a drink of sake rather than fight him. Ichigo was a bit worried that Shunsui might not have the resolve to make it through Hueco Mundo. Of course, it wasn't that he lacked resolve to bring Ukitake home, but Ichigo was quite sure that Kyoraku wasn't prepared for a place like Hueco Mundo. Who knew how many of the Espada Aizen might have decided to bring back? And who knew what else Aizen might have planned?

"Yes, but I'm so much more hip than you are, Shunsui, that I feel genuinely sorry for you," Shinji sighed, then stuck his tongue out.

Shunsui gasped. "What is that on your tongue?"

"I had my tongue pierced a few years ago! Hey, don't be puttin' on da white wig an' be judgin' and don't be a h8r... I'm not the only one! Kensei's got about three brow piercings, and Love pierced his nose a while back but he took it out!" Shinji reported indignantly.

"Didn't that hurt?" Shunsui asked with his eyes wide.

"It's all about the pain, _Shunsui-chan," _Shinji joked in a suggestive voice. "Lisa was going to get a tramp stamp, but backed out at the last second. She figured her boyfriend, who dumped her and moved on, wouldn't approve! And I was gonna get a grill, but I figured the money could be better spent on other things."

"Shinji, the last thing on earth you'd need is a_ grill!" _Ichigo scoffed. At Shunsui's obvious confusion, Ichigo explained, "It's like putting gold over your teeth, only some people put diamonds and crap on them too."

"Yeah, you're right, I don't really need a grill..." Shinji grinned widely as only he could, just for effect.

"No, you don't need this grill thing. You just need a new brain, Shinji-kun! This one is...'fail.'" Ichigo wanted to grit his teeth. _Shinji's no better! He ought to be, he was a Vizard! He's not soft like the normal Shinigami!_

"Ichigo-kun, do you have your badge?" Shunsui asked him.

"Of course! I can't turn into a Shinigami without it!" Ichigo exclaimed, pulling the Substitute Shinigami badge out of his pocket.

"Hey could you please explain to me the purpose of that thing?" Shinji scoffed. "I still can't figure out what the hell a 'Substitute Shinigami' is! Let alone what he'd need a badge like that for? Hey, you know, you never mentioned this, but who gave you that thing anyway?"

Ichigo got a bit defensive. Shinji was one to laugh out of you anyway, and he was already a bit sensitive about the badge. "I told you, you idiot! I need the badge or I can't turn into a Shinigami!"

"Huh? Shunsui, what the heck?" Shinji complained.

"Actually, it was Jushiro who gave Ichigo the badge," Shunsui revealed.

"Uh, Shunsui, did Ju-Ju eat one of his hash brownies before giving him that?" Shinji asked in a quiet mocking tone. "You know, Drums and Space? Ganja..."

Ichigo lost it. "Arrrghh, just SHUT UP!" he yelled. "Stop talking like he's some kind of _stoner!"_

"Medical marijuana could help increase his appetite, which gets obliterated when he's in the midst of a bout. It relieves pain, and it even can help him breathe a little better," Shunsui reminded Shinji quietly, not nearly as angry as Ichigo.

"And what the hell are you talking about _'Drums and Space?'" _Ichigo raged.

"Wow, you're too young to know 'Drums and Space,' huh? Well, during Grateful Dead concerts, they do this intermission phase of music called 'Drums and Space' where, you know, everyone can go back to that psychedelic place while they play just crazy shit. Don't look at me like that. When you get to be as old as I am, and you try to be hip to all the new stuff all the time, it gets to be a lot of new stuff, and nowadays its more and more difficult. There's just so much going on, and it all lasts exactly five minutes, and then there's the next thing... Remember MySpace? Yeah, I don't either. I didn't even bother searching for you on there, I just friended you on Facebook. You think we ought to start on Twitter?" Shinji sighed.

"What's the point? Could you imagine me sending a Tweet like 'Help, I'm getting my ass kicked by an Arrancar?' What would my followers write back? 'OMG! GTFO? LOL!'" Ichigo snorted.

"What _is_ this Book of Faces you keep talking about?" Shunsui asked.

"It's not a book of faces, it's Facebook!" Shinji huffed. "Damn, you don't know anything, ya geezer?"

"You've never heard of Facebook?" Ichigo asked, bewildered. "I even got Rukia set up with a Facebook page. You've got to go on Facebook!"

"Yeah, you can stalk chicks on there!" Shinji began to explain. "Of course, you'll have to lie about your age, like I do. I bet Ju-Ju would like Facebook. Or actually, he's the one who ought to use Twitter, he can send a Tweet every time he coughs..."

Shunsui's patience took a major nosedive. "You know Shinji, you've been jealous of him for over a thousand years, just give it up already!"

"Well, if I had a face like his, I'd have done half the Seireitei by now! Yeah, even a couple of the ugly chicks; I'd do them a favor! That's like charity, right?"

Ichigo's patience was now plummeting. "Damn it Shinji, now I'm gonna have that picture in my head for the rest of the day!"

"And how is a_ virgin _like you supposed to picture anything like that?" Shinji sneered.

Ichigo's face turned a rather strawberry color, he made a dive for Shinji, and Shunsui gasped. "Oh, Ichigo-kun! How can you take such a chance? I made sure the very first thing I did was lose my virginity before I ever got around to doing anything dangerous!" Now Ichigo's face turned the color of strawberry jello.

"Chuh! Most likely by parading the Pretty Princess along with you! Ichigo, you might not realize this, but the guy's a total chick-magnet! _'Oh, let me just look at you with my puppy dog eyes, and tell you I'm getting feverish just looking at you, oh, and don't forget, I'm a writer too...'" _Shinji rambled in a wheezy, husky voice, much like Ukitake's.

"A writer?" Ichigo asked aloud, trying to keep himself from having a TMI induced nervous breakdown. And here I thought the young captains were weird! "Hey, wait, what are you calling Ukitake a princess for? I thought you were his friends!"

"We are his friends. In fact, until just very recently, I didn't realize just how good a friend he really was to me. That's just one of my nicknames for him. That, and Ju-Ju. When he's all weird, he's Ju-Ju. When he's...Oh wait! Now I get it! Let me guess. The Pretty Princess pouted, and Daddy-jii gave him his way, huh? _With the badge?"_

"Well, he needed..." Shunsui began, but fell silent abruptly when Ichigo looked up. "There it is! Just like I'd been told!" Shunsui was so glad to see it: a _garganta_ was opening!

"Wow! Who was the one who told you there'd be a _garganta_ opened here?" Ichigo asked very quietly as Tosen Kaname, Tesla, and two other Arrancar he hadn't seen before came out of the black dimensional gate.

Kaname announced, "Be very quick about this, I detect there are other Shinigami in the area, and this could very easily be a trap! Szayel, Tesla, you start over on that street, and Aaroniero and I will conduct our search here! We'll meet back here in ten minutes." At that, all the Arrancar and Kaname scattered.

"We'll wait until they reopen the _garganta, _then sneak in," Shunsui suggested.

"We ought to hide our _reiatsu," _Shinji suggested.

"Can you still use that kido spell?" Shunsui asked.

"Yeah, even though I don't use my Shinigami powers much anymore," Shinji sighed.

"I...I never learned any kido," Ichigo lamented.

"Well, you know once this war is over, you're going to be taken into the Soul Society, and that's where you'll finish your training," Shunsui assured him. "But until then, there's this, an invention of Urahara's that he wasn't able to take with him when he fled to the Living World. I know he'd want you to have it." He handed Ichigo the folded up deep colored garment. Ichigo unfolded it and saw it was a cloak.

"Dude, it's an Invisibility Cloak!" Ichigo said, suddenly giddy.

"Well, not precisely, but it might as well be, since no one will be able to detect your _reiastu_ with this on," Shunsui explained.

"Sweet! How'd you get your hands on this?" Ichigo asked him.

"Well, since the entire Central 46 had been exterminated by Aizen, we captains had pretty much free rein over the place, for a little while anyway. I came across it one day, before Mayuri could get his paws on it, and I thought, 'well, maybe Urahara might want to get it back someday...'" Shunsui explained.

Shinji gave Shunsui a look. "Wow. You've been inside the Compound? What's it like?"

"Eh, it's dark, dusty...pretty damn AWESOME!" Shunsui grinned.

"Like kids in a candy store, I bet..." Shinji sighed.

They noticed Kaname look up, as though he sensed something. "Pay attention! I thought I sensed the Kurosaki boy just now, though his _reiatsu_ suddenly disappeared!"

"Right, Tosen-sama!" Aaroniero responded.

"Hey, let's get ready, I got a feeling he's gonna collect his freaks and bolt sooner than ten minutes!" Shinji breathed.

"Right...Bakudo # 26: _Kyakko," _Shunsui said softly. The Curving Light spell obscured Shunsui's form, and Shinji did the exact same thing about two seconds later. Ichigo pulled the cloak's hood over his head.

"Aaroniero, have you had any luck? I don't even sense the presence of Ukitake's zanpakuto!"

"No, Tosen-sama, I haven't sensed it either, and thanks to my contact with him, I surely would have been able to if it was here."

"Ukitake is trying to make a fool of me. I'm not amused. Let's go, everyone," Kaname ordered them to gather by him. Then, he pointed to the empty air and said, "_My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis." _The _garganta_ began to unfold before him.

Shunsui tapped Ichigo on the shoulder. He nodded, then they all used _shunpo_ to dash into the _garganta_ just as Tesla stepped back through the gate.

It was not easy for Ichigo to keep silent. Because it had been Kaname who opened the _garganta, _it was a lot easier to traverse the "between" world. It was odd, too, to be standing right next to Tesla and not be noticed or seen. Kaname was the only one who seemed as though he was somewhat suspicious.

"We should have spent more time there, Tosen-sama," Szayel said with a frown. "It's got to be there. There's no place else he could have stowed it."

"I detected a trap there, Szayel. I was former captain of the Investigation Squad. I will get more information out of Ukitake, and then, we will return. There is no place he can hide that zanpakuto where I can't eventually find it. Even if he's placed it with someone else..."

"Like his friend," Aaroniero chimed in.

"He didn't have the time to do that," Kaname concluded. "It would have been impossible for him to give the zanpakuto to Kyoraku without Kyoraku having tried to save him from Wonderwiess. He would have never left him there."

"Even if it was a planned infiltration, like he said it was?" Tesla asked.

"It would have been too obvious if Kyoraku had left him there. Ukitake fooled me into thinking he was Wonderwiess' prisoner. He wouldn't have been able to do that if he hadn't made it look as convincing as possible. I brought him into Las Noches... He must have been laughing at me the whole time!" Kaname seethed.

Ichigo didn't dare peek out from under his hood. He knew that Shunsui and Shinji were there, and it must have been taking everything in them to keep quiet under their kido spell. "Besides..." Kaname suddenly continued, slowly drawing out his Suzumushi, "if the plan had been for Kyoraku to bring Ukitake's zanpakuto back to him, he would have it with him...right now!"

"Shit!" Shinji gasped as Kaname took a swing at him. His Curved Light spell dissolved. Shunsui dropped his as well.

"It was a trap!" Szayel gasped, grabbing his own zapakuto.

"Let's get out of here!" Ichigo yelled, dashing toward Shunsui and Shinji and hurling all three of them down...

They landed in the desert, the endless desert, of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo gripped Zangetsu, waiting for Kaname to pursue, but he didn't. _Yeah, he probably figures he's safer not persuing us and instead getting Ukitake's zanpakuto. _"Damn! It would have been better if we'd been able to piggy-back our way back to Las Noches. It'll take us a while to get there now!"

Shinji and Shunsui were silent, each of them staring at the scene around them. "Hueco Mundo..." Shinji said breathlessly.

"Yeah, let me give you the two-yen tour... See these trees? They actually grow underground, and these are just the tops poking through," Ichigo began.

"Like bony skeleton fingers poking out of a grave..." Shunsui said in a creepy voice.

"Halloween's over, Shunsui," Shinji sighed.

"Yeah, Christmas and New Year's is coming!" Ichigo reminded them. "I...I couldn't believe so much time had passed while all of us were down here!"

"Ichigo, we can't stay here long. We have to get to Jushiro before Tosen can interrogate him again!" Shunsui warned him, becoming very serious again.

"It's a long journey to Las Noches..." Ichigo sighed.

"Wait, isn't that it?" Shinji asked, pointing to a huge fortress ahead of them. "It doesn't look so far away to me."

"Heh, the place is so huge that though you think it's nearby, it's actually days away. Damn. This is what I was afraid of, that we'd have to run there, like Ishida, Sado and I did last time..." Ichigo said with mounting despair.

"Oh! There you are, Ichigo!" an excited female voice suddenly called out from seeming nowhere. Ichigo knew that voice very well.

"Nel! Is that you?" he called out.

"We've been looking all over for you ever since your Shinigami Captain sent us to find you!" Nel'liel Tu Oderschvanck waved frantically from the back of BawaBawa. Dondochakka and Pesche were right beside her.

_"What great timing!" _Ichigo exclaimed. "We just got here to rescue Ukitake. Do you know where he is?"

Shunsui and Shinji both stared at Nel while she explained, "Oh! He's tied up in a stone chair! He had a wound, but I healed it for him."

"Nel, that's great! We were really worried about that!" Ichigo said. "See, she's got this sort of healing puke," he started to tell the others.

"Oh, well, I've had girls puke on me before..." Shunsui said kind of trance-like.

"Yeah, occupational hazard," Shinji said in a similar tone.

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, then turned back to Nel.

"He said he was your Shinigami Captain, and that Lord Aizen was going to have to ask him questions. But at least I was able to sit on his lap for a while and sleep..." Nel told Ichigo very innocently.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Shunsui and Shinji demanded in a chorus, accompanied by simultaneous nosebleeds.

"You see what I mean? I TOLD you he's a chick-magnet!" Shinji ranted.

"Guys, uh..." Ichigo suddenly tried to stifle a laugh. Now Ichigo understood exactly what was going on. "I got an idea, why don't you ask Ukitake about it when we see him again?"

"Oh, you bet we will! Looks like someone started celebrating his birthday early!" Shunsui said in a sly tone.

"His birthday? He didn't even tell me!" Nel pouted. Ichigo fought the urge to laugh as Nel's prominent physical assets bounced and Shinji's and Shunsui's eyes were glued to every jiggle.

"I'm going to sit with you guys," Ichigo told Dondocahkka as he leaped onto BawaBawa's back. " I need to keep company with someone normal for a little while!"

* * *

In his chair, Jushiro suddenly sneezed. "Bless you," Grimmjow mumbled automatically.

"You know what they say, Grimmjow? If a man sneezes, it's because a pretty lady is talking about him," Jushiro explained.

"I've never heard of that, but if that's true, then you should be sneezing your head off, because you must be the most talked about person in Hueco Mundo right now..." Grimmjow commented. Then, suddenly, the chamber doors banged open. Kaname and the other Arrancars had returned.

"How very true, Grimmjow!" Kaname commented flatly. Wonderwiess wandered into the chamber, and Jushiro brightened up. "Your defiance is coming to an end, Ukitake!"

* * *

_To be continued..._

_And now, as a special sort of thing, I'm putting a deleted scene that I really wish I had been able to include, but continuity of the story wouldn't allow it. This is supposed to be what took place right before Aaroniero made his entrance in the last chapter. I decided to have a little fun while writing this. Enjoy!_

For a while, Jushiro had no guards at all. In fact, there was not one visitor to his chair. He was starting to get a bit bored. But one good thing was the sunlight beaming through the high window. It had a very cheering effect when it basked him in it's glow.

He wasn't the only one that was getting bored, apparently. Or, that is to say, it was he that was getting bored, but it was another manifestation of himself… "Daddy?" he heard in one ear. "Daddy?" he heard in his other ear.

At each side of him was a little boy. Sogyo no Katawari had awakened. The Twins of Pisces. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're bored," Wave complained.

"Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored!" Lightning, who was always a bit more aggressive than Wave, elaborated. Soon, they both leaped to the marble floor and started stomping around, chanting, "Bored!" over and over.

"Hmm…so, if I'm hearing you correctly, you say you're bored?" Jushiro asked.

Lightning puffed up his little body and shouted, "Really, really, really, really, really, really, really BORED!"

"Very, very, very, very, very, very bored?" Jushiro confirmed.

"Really, very, soooooooooo BORED!" Lightning told him.

"You know, this must be the most boring conversation I've ever had," Jushiro remarked.

"Daddy, this is dumb. You said we were going to play Hide and Seek, but you didn't even tell the nasty bad man he's it yet," Wave pointed out.

"You're right, I haven't! Well, that's because I haven't had a chance to yet. He doesn't even realize that you're hiding yet. How can he go look for you if he doesn't know that he's supposed to?" Jushiro asked him.

"Why don't you tell him?" Lightning demanded. "We're bored! And we're hungry too!"

"Great, that's all I needed was someone to remind me that I'm hungry," Jushiro sighed. His zanpakuto, the manifestation of his soul, can sometimes be very bratty when they are cranky and frustrated.

"I want chocolate cake!" Lightning pouted.

"I want grilled cheese, and pickles, and potato chips!" Wave added.

"And ice cream!" Lightning tacked on.

_Peanut butter and tuna even sounds kind of appetizing now. _"Listen to me, both of you! I know you are having a hard time, but you needed to stay in your hiding place! This is a matter of life or death, you two!"

"But Daddy, it's gonna be our birthday tomorrow! And for the first time in ages, we aren't going to be sick when our birthday comes around. It's the first time we could have had some _fun!" _Wave wept. "We're not gonna get any presents. We're not gonna have a party. We're not even gonna get to eat anything at all!"

"It's not fair! Shunsui got a big party when he turned two thousand years old! How come we can't get one when we turn two thousand?" Lightning cried. _It's true. December 21st is tomorrow, and I might still be in this chair, as I pass my two thousandth year. But I cannot dwell on that._

"People here need my help!" Jushiro told them firmly. "I am right where I belong!"

"How come those Arrancars Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are more important than us?" Lightning demanded.

"That's enough out of you two! You're lucky that Aizen is in as much trouble as he's in. At the rate he's going, there's a really good chance that he'll be seeking you by later today. So, you two need to go back to your hiding place for a little longer," Jushiro warned them.

"Okay, Daddy, if you promise you'll tell him that he's it, then we'll go back!" Lightning sighed. "It's just that _he's _so dumb..."

"Lightning... That's enough out of you! And of course I'm going to be the one to find you, not Aizen, remember that."

"Yeah, 'cause we're really well hidden!" Wave said clapping.

"Will we get to fight Kyoka Suigetsu on our birthday, Daddy?" Lightning asked eagerly.

"Now, how would you two like that for our birthday?" Jushiro asked.

"Yay!" they both cheered.

"Alright then, you know what you need to do. Get back to your hiding place! I love you," Jushiro reminded them.

"I love you too, Daddy!" they each said as they toddled off, but then, Lightning turned around and asked, "Can we have chocolate cake too?"

"Bye!" Jushiro told him firmly. He giggled and scooted off to catch up with Wave, who was always a bit more obedient._ Sure, I can taste my birthday dinner right now, grilled cheese and potato chips and pickles, with chocolate cake for dessert, and after that, some of that Patrón Silver sitting up in the kitchen cabinet that Shunsui had left there._

Ulquiorra and Orihime finally dared to venture out of her chambers early in the morning. They decided it would be a good idea to go to the kitchen. She wanted to experiment with baking some muffins. Ulquiorra wore a grim expression. _Cranberries and pumpkin. Well, maybe that wouldn't be soo terrible..._

But his newly awakened third eye saw something very unexpected. He actually drew in a gasp. "What is it, Ulquiorra-kun?" Orihime asked.

"There is more and more strangeness going on here every day. Did you just see..two little boys walking into that corridor?" Ulquiorra asked her back.

"No! Two little boys? Let's go see!" Orihime told him. Ulquiorra used _sonido _with Orihime in tow. Orihime privately thought that very soon, she'd be able to use it herself, having done it so often with these Arrancars! But when they got to the hallway in question, Ulquiorra blinked.

"Chuh! _They're gone! _Just that trash Wonderweiss is there!" The Arrancar in question lifted his lilac eyes to them and moaned.

"Well, maybe he's seen them too," Orihime suggested.

"Even if he did, asking him would be pointless. I'll have to keep my eyes open wider. I know I saw them..."

A new Arrancar came into Jushiro's chamber at last...

* * *

_Hope you liked that._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I've got questions that need to be answered...right now!" This was from Ichigo, seated on BawaBawa's back with Dondochakka sniffling next to him. The two Shinigami, former and current, gave Ichigo twin blank looks. "First of all, what's this crap with my badge? What aren't you telling me?"

"Next question," Shunsui announced.

"But you didn't answer the first one!" Ichigo protested.

"He pleads a fifth, er, I mean The Fifth," Shinji grinned.

"That doesn't apply here. I need to know what's going on!" Ichigo huffed.

"Please, Ichigo-kun, you must understand that I can't reveal what the badge's true meaning is yet. But Jushiro can tell you. He gave it to you, after all," Shunsui explained.

Ichigo grit his teeth. "What's this about Ukitake being a writer? When does he have time to write?"

"Downtime in Squad Four barracks with his illness has been when he's done most of his work. He writes children's books, Ichigo-kun," Shunsui explained.

"Yeah, you could even go so far as to say that he's like the J.K. Rowling of the Seireitei. Virtually every Shinigami you know, especially if they grew up in the Seireitei, has read his stuff. They're about a kid who has to defend his little village from evildoers. Maybe you might recognize this expression, _'I will reject them?'_ The hero says it all the time, and the kids all liked to imitate it!" Shinji further elaborated.

Ichigo got a chill when he heard the expression, not only because of it's uncanny similarity to Orihime's command for Shun Shun Rikka, but also because, impossible though that might be, he'd read the book! _Dammit! if only I wasn't so bad with names! I'd remember who the author of that book was! _"Is something wrong, Ichigo? Are you weaker than we all thought, from your fighting? You look like you turned almost as pale as Jushiro!" Shunsui remarked.

"It's just...now I have about a thousand more questions!" Ichigo complained.

"I have an idea, Ichigo-kun. When we get Jushiro back, and we're all in the Seireitei again, we'll have dinner one night, and we'll talk about all the things you have questions about. By that time, Yamamoto-sotaicho will be more willing to discussing the details of your future in Soul Society. Until then, let's just take it easy and concentrate on the task at hand, alright?" Shunsui suggested.

"Unohana-taicho was telling me something on the way back to the living world. She mentioned that I am the only one who hasn't seen Aizen's shikai, so that I can't be subjected to it's powers," Ichigo mentioned quietly.

"She's right! Ichigo-kun, that's a good point!" Shunsui said cheerfully.

Shinji gave Ichigo a look. "Yeah, you might be our sides' ace in the hole!"

"Yeah, but still, something's nagging me about it..." Ichigo trailed off.

"I can tell that you're not strong enough to fight him now. So we need to keep you away from him, or more damage can be done," Shinji concluded.

"How bad is it, Ichigo?" Shunsui asked, suddenly concerned.

"Is there something I can help with, Ichigo?" Nel asked.

"I...I needed to sleep," Ichigo confessed. "I'm so tired."

Shinji and Shunsui tried very valiantly not to look worried. "Hey, you can sleep here, while BawaBawa takes us to Las Noches, Ichigo!" Nel offered.

"Nah, that's okay, Nel..." Ichigo said carelessly. Then, he noticed Shunsui's slight frown. There was a look in his eyes that sort of spooked Ichigo.

"Jeez, he's doing the same damned thing Jushiro does all the time. He still does it, don't he?" Shinji murmured to Shunsui.

"There you go again, saying mysterious stuff!" Ichigo growled.

"Ichigo, go to sleep or I'll knock you out," Shunsui warned him very quietly.

"Hey wait, this isn't nursery school, what do you think this is, naptime..._Urgh!_ Dammit...not...again..." Ichigo faded out and Nel gasped.

"Sorry, Nel'liel-san, but Ichigo needed a sedative. This method delivers it directly into his body," Shunsui explained to the worried Arrancars as Shinji pulled his hand out of Ichigo's abdominal cavity after having delivering the _Hoten._

"You know, if Ichigo was truly fully trained, he could have taken my hand off," Shinji commented quietly.

"At first, I thought Isshin might have trained him," Shunsui said. "But then, it became evident that it was really Urahara who had trained him, at least trained him enough to bust into the Seireitei to stop Kuchiki Rukia's execution."

Shinji glared at him with worried gray eyes. "I thought you were never supposed to mention the name of any Shinigami after they leave like he did."

Shunsui laughed. "We're in Hueco Mundo! And what do you care about the laws of Central 46, when they don't exist anymore?"

"Hey I'm just trying to protect you," Shinji pointed out.

"Did you see Ichigo's reaction when we were talking about Jushiro's first book? I think he recognized the plot. I think Isshin gave the book to Ichigo when he was a child!" Shunsui said breathlessly. "Can it possibly be that Ichigo doesn't know his father was..?"

"Yes, it's true. He never told Ichigo that he had been captain of Squad Ten once. I haven't actually visited Isshin, though I was tempted a few times. I don't think Kisuke had been in Karakura Town for the past hundred years. I think he found out Isshin left Soul Society and tracked him to Karakura Town. They were always good friends. I think Urahara, like we Vizards, had been travelling around from place to place. It's all because of my failure that Urahara had to leave in the first place. Isshin would not have been so keen on leaving if Kisuke was still there."

"Well, it's true that Isshin and Kisuke were pals at the Academy, like we all were. But he did remain in the Gotei for many years after Urahara had left. The story had been that he fell in love with a human woman, presumably Ichigo's mother, and left Soul Society to be with her. Under those circumstances, we can't hunt him down or interfere, but we also can never speak of him again," Shunsui sighed.

"You beleive that shit?" Shinji asked frankly.

"Nope," Shunsui sighed even more deeply than the first time. "Jushiro was actually pretty angry about it. He and Sensei both...Not sure why, but Jushiro seemed to take it a bit personally. Isshin must have said something to him, but he's never divulged, if he did, no matter how mad at him he was. I wonder if Isshin's still as goofy as he used to be," Shunsui chatted.

"No more goofy than you and Ju-Ju, I think," Shinji sniffed.

Shunsui grew very serious at the mention of Jushiro. "Shinji, why can't I sense his _reiatsu?_ Even though he's alive, which Tosen confirmed, why can't I sense him?"

"Maybe he's in a dungeon or something?" Shinji guessed.

"Oh, no, he's in a tower. I told you, he'd tied up to a big stone chair. He told me I should be very careful not to touch it. Although he was sitting in the chair, and he seemed fine to me..." Nel commented.

"You know which tower it is?" Shinji asked her.

"We sure do!" Nel'liel and her two fraccion all said at once.

"Well, we certainly lucked out when you found us!" Shinji said.

"No, luck had nothing to do with it. It was all part of a plan..." Shunsui sighed.

"Whose plan? Who was the one who knew the garganta would be opening?" Shinji demanded.

Shunsui smirked. "It was Yama-jii..."

* * *

_"Now that you understand that you must not take anyone from Soul Society to go on this mission, I shall reveal the plan that Jushiro-kun and I devised," Genryusai said calmly._

_"Plan? But, Yama-jii, Jushiro is so sickly! How can he take a chance like this? And how can you let him go? He could die! Don't you care?" Shunsui raged._

_"Jushiro has survived nearly two thousand years with this illness. It has taken it's toll on his body, indeed, but it had never taken it's toll on his_ reiatsu._ In fact, he's grown more and more powerful, or, as he'd like to argue, his age has enabled him to unlock his inner resources to such at extent that he can compensate for his lack of physical strength far more than you give him credit for. Besides, he and I struck a deal. He had uncovered a bit of Aizen's plot that we had been previously ignoring. The 'Plan B,' if you will. His mission is to foil 'Plan B.' I was as hesitant as you at first, especially since we had already sent four captains into Hueco Mundo. And I was well aware of what your reaction to his 'capture' would be, as was he. His deal with me was to allow you to persue him, but he needed a certain amount of time before he could possibly let you into Hueco Mundo. Our agreed upon time was noon tomorrow. He agreed that if he did not send someone into the living world by then, that I would open the garganta myself."_

_At first, Shunsui had been completely speechless. "What is this 'Plan B?'" he finally asked._

_"Some sort of deathstone device to drain _reiatsu_ and collect it. He'd noticed Aizen's_ reiatsu_ had touched a bit of information about this despicable device in the Central 46's library. He assured me he knew how to counter this device and volunteered to put himself in it's path, lest one of the other captains fall to it's insidious powers first," Yamamoto told him._

_Shunsui's insides were broiling. That was just like his beloved brother-in-arms, to volunteer to do something like that to keep others from suffering. He wanted to howl with frustration and fear. "Why didn't he tell me?" he stammered._

_"Because he was afraid you'd try to stop him, Shunsui," Yamamoto answered._

_"Damn straight I'd try to stop him!" Shunsui gasped._

_"Shunsui, please forgive him. He knew you'd be angry at being left in the dark, but he insisted that he be allowed a certain amount of time. I don't believe that he intends for Aizen to claim his reiatsu, and I believe he knows that he cannot leave Hueco Mundo without aid once he's done what he has to do. He's a capable captain, more than capable of dealing with a little fool like Aizen, as long as he is well, which he assured me he was," Yamamoto said._

_That was when Shunsui's patience, which he thought was going to hold up, finally gave up instead. "How could you believe him when he told you that he's well? Whenever he says he's 'fine' is when I have to worry he's not going to pass out the next minute! He ALWAYS lies about his health!" Shunsui exploded. He began to pace. He was so afraid that he didn't know what he was going to do to stop the fear. "You have to open that_ garganta_ now! Please! He's going to die if you don't help him!"_

_"Shunsui, wait for the_ garganta_ tomorrow. Have faith in your friend. That_ garganta_ will open."_

Shunsui had to admit, he's underestimated Jushiro._ No wonder he didn't tell me about this plan of his._ Still, Shunsui decided he was going to make damned sure he made Jushiro regret making him worry like this...

* * *

"I've got questions that need to be answered...right now!" This was from Sosuke, who summoned Grimmjow only after he'd been expelled at last from the chamber where Jushiro was being held. Now, they were upstairs. Grimmjow had questions of his own, like what Aizen had done to make his eyes go black...

"Yes, Lord Aizen, what is it?" Grimmjow asked back instead.

"Do you know why I haven't turned on you as I have on Starrk, Harribel, and Barrigan?"

"Not really, no," Grimmjow admitted.

"Two reasons. First, you're observant, and I can use someone observant. Second, because you seem to bring out the worst in Kurosaki. Once I've drained Ukitake, I'll get him in that chair next, and you will be instrumental in that. You can lure him to his doom," Sosuke grinned.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Lord Aizen," Grimmjow grinned. _I won't lay a finger on Ukitake. But that punk Kurosaki, anytime!_

"Now, let's see how right I am about your powers of observation. You made a statement to Aaroniero. You said that Ukitake did not fear me. Do you truly feel that way?" he asked.

"It's pretty damned obvious, Lord Aizen. He's got a plan, and he's really confident that he can pull it off," Grimmjow concluded.

"What's the plan?" Sosuke asked with a bit of a mad glint in his eyes.

"My guess is that he's trying to turn the Arrancar against you," Grimmjow answered.

"And is it working?" Sosuke asked.

"I'll be honest here. If you keep turning on us, like you have been, it won't take much. He's dumped the gasoline all over Hueco Mundo and he's just waiting for you to light the match, Lord Aizen."

"Be careful, Grimmjow. I think there's more to it than that. He might be using you in order to further another plan. He's already manipulated Ulquiorra so that he will only go along with my orders if he_ agrees_ with them, not obey them without question. I may have to destroy him..."

"What about Orihime?" Grimmjow gasped.

Sosuke's eyes turned darker. "If she is not true to me, then I will dispose of her as well. I only keep those who are useful to me now. Sentiment cannot get in the way of my objective. I will possess her, and if she is not agreeable to that, then there is nothing to be done except send her down Ulquiorra's path. We shall see just where her feelings truly are..."

Grimmjow was in a panic. Ukitake has been counting on Ulquiorra to keep Aizen off her. _Aizen must have figured it out! I can't stand the thought of him...touching Orihime! Come on, Ukitake! You're not afraid of this bastard! Why not? Tell me, and I'll believe you! _And then, as if on cue, they both felt the burst of a new_ reiatsu,_ and Sosuke's eyes flew wide open.

"What the hell just happened down there? _Gin, get down there with me! We've got trouble!"_ Sosuke gasped.

* * *

_Fifteen minutes before that..._

"I've got questions that need to be answered...right now!" This was from Kaname, whose frown was grim indeed. "Everyone, go now! The captain and I need to talk." Grimmjow in particular gave Kaname an evil look, then stalked out of the chamber, along with Aaroniero, Tesla and Szayel. Only Wonderwiess remained at Kaname's side.

"Hmm, some bad blood there with you and Grimmjow, isn't there?" Jushiro commented.

"I don't like him. He's violent, surly," Kaname began complaining.

"And honest. Unlike you, Kaname-kun!" Jushiro cut him off.

"Ukitake-taicho, so many look up to you. Even Wonderwiess here responds to you, even though he was the one who impaled you. I accompany him because he has the level of _reiatsu _to surpass many of the Espada. However, because of his purity of spirit, he finds himself drawn to me, another who is pure of spirit," Kaname began.

_"Pure of spirit?"_ Jushiro nearly choked. If Kaname was looking to aggravate him, it was working. "Are you still so deluded that you think what Aizen is doing here is the right thing?"

"You mistake my meaning, of course. Someone of your advanced age ought to know better, but considering the company you keep and the misdeeds you are guilty of, I suppose that the truth of purity of spirit is lost on you for all time. Let me illuminate you. When I speak of purity, I speak now..._of pure evil!"_ Kaname told him.

"If you are talking about Shunsui as _'the company I keep,'_ you aren't fit to stand in his shadow. So, then, you have decided upon evil as the path to least bloodshed?" Jushiro asked.

"If you had not interfered that day with the execution, if you had not destroyed the Sokyoku, Kuchiki Rukia's spririt would have been dissolved, and more importantly, the Hogyoku would have been awakened completely from the force of the Sokyoku's immense reiatsu!" Kaname informed him. "So, your actions that day have caused a great delay in Aizen's plans, and thus, we reside in Hueco Mundo, surrounded with the departed that have fallen from the questionable grace of the Soul Society."

"Are you forgetting the _ryoka? _Are you forgetting that_ Kurosaki _stopped the Sokyoku?" Jushiro asked.

Kaname, whose eyes always remain closed, shook his head. "That man-child, though his _reiatsu_ is indeed formidable, would never have been able to survive a true blow from the Sokyoku. Do you still not understand? The Sokyoku was never meant to destroy everything in it's path. It would only destroy that which it was ordered to destroy! Kurosaki Ichigo would have been added to the list of spirits to destroy had the Sogyoku been instructed to do so. Since he blocked the way, the Sokyoku would have had to go around him to destroy it's only target, _Rukia!_ No, it was your action that stopped our plan, though Aizen-sama likes to believe that his stop-gap measure, learning how to extract the Hogyoku from Rukia's soul manually, really saved the day for us. I would sincerely wish to inform him otherwise. One should not carry on under delusions."

This last statement made Jushiro laugh in scorn. "You're a fine one to talk about delusions! Now you believe in pure evil, do you?"

"If only you knew the liberation of purity, Ukitake-taicho! Someone of your age can only see things in the cynical fashion of the 'enlightened.' I have never felt so free since I abandoned the pretense of 'trying to do good.' The 'good' you did has led to a path soaked in blood. Had you known that Rukia needed to be the only one to be sacrificed, would you still have taken the path you did?" Kaname asked.

Jushiro felt a siezure of pure rage come over him. He gripped the armrests of the chair, and had he been able to lean forward, he would have. _"What?_ It was because of you and your wicked cohorts that I took the actions I did! Have you forgotten that it was _Aizen _who destroyed the 46? The only law of Soul Society had fallen to three throughly corrupted, _evil_ men, who in turn gave destructive orders to my leader? It was because of you, Gin and Sosuke and your despicable, deceitful treachery that I was forced to raise my zanpakto against my sensei! _I will NEVER forgive you for that!" _Jushiro was shaking in the chair and felt the pounding of his anger thoughout his entire body.

Kaname drew his zanpakto, Suzumushi. "No one forced you to do any such thing."

"I could not stand by and do nothing! Kuchiki Rukia is my officer! And justice had been distorted into a travesty! I had to make my sensei, Yamamoto, understand this! Since he thought your orders were from the real Central 46, he also thought that destroying me and Shunsui was justice, that _we_ had committed the treason! It was because of _you_ that Kuchiki Byakuya thought he had to let his sister die, since to keep her alive would be treason! _How dare you speak of justice!_ You never understood it, or maybe worse, you never gave a damn about it!" Jushiro declared.

_"Enough!"_ Kaname said with an even deeper frown, then raised Suzumushi in his right hand. _"Bankai!"_ he hissed. Very quickly, Jushiro's world went very silent and very dark. He felt a hand on his arm, and through the darkness, Kaname's face loomed over him. "The dark and silent world of _Emne Korogi_ will give you the environment necessary for you to contemplate your death, Ukitake-taicho!"

"I am unafraid of death, Kaname-kun," Jushiro answered quietly.

"You might think that you are ready for death, that you have made peace with your existence. All those times your life crossed before your eyes, all those times that you thought erroneously that you were drawing your last breath? Those times were all false alarms. This...is the true hour of your demise. Think about all the things you regret, all the things you will never get to do. If you are truly at peace with dying, then there will be nothing for you to think about. But I know one thing; there is no one under the sun who has no regrets! Dwell on them, and ready yourself for your fate!" Kaname let go, and from then on, Jushiro was on his own, or so it seemed.

"I regret..." Jushiro began, but soon stopped speaking. He could not hear the words as they came out of his mouth. _This was bothersome!_ This pretense of being ready for death, all the while knowing that, at least, he will not be dying in this chair, as they wish for him to do. "I regret that any person ever had to sit in this chair. I regret that nothing ever satisfies you children except more and more power. How I regret that Aizen does not know the true nature of the soul, and how none of this was ever necessary!" He said it, not caring what he sounded like, or if Kaname was able to hear it or not.

"Aizen speaks of filling the throne in the sky. He speaks of becoming God, but he uses the same trite human inventions of 'justice' and 'fairness' to try and manipulate Order, which, unlike justice and fairness, is the true 'Divine' and does not respond to those immature, manmade notions. So, therefore, he will never become God because his perception of what God is, is impossible for him to be. He would have to be, at the very least, what people all over the living world concieve of him to be. All my years of being a Shinigami has exposed me to all the major religions of the world, and I don't think that Aizen stacks up to what any of them would believe he needs to be. The Creator of the Universe, The Absolute. Imagine a world where Muslims would kneel down and pray, six times a day, to Aizen. Or a church filled with Christians who pray that Jesus would forgive their sins against Aizen. Or a child says a prayer at night, 'Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray that Aizen, my soul to keep!' Even that most simple of all prayers in the world, 'God, help me,' would be a prayer to Aizen? You know what, Tosen? That doesn't do it for me. That won't do it for anyone! And if I have to draw my last breath to keep Aizen from destroying the world in order to satisfy his petty illusions, then so be it! Now if you want to kill me, go ahead!" Jushiro ended in a yell. He heard nothing. He saw nothing, still.

But, for the first time since he sat in this chair, he could feel _reiatsu._ This was a major change, since the deathstone had absorbed any _reiatsu _that came near it, including any of his own bleedoff. This _reiatsu_ was similar to Tosen Kaname's, but, that change that had been made, that thing they had done...altered it. Jushiro felt a fierce grip on his forearm and he could see in the dark again. And what he saw...

_"Kaname!"_ he gasped.

_"I can see you like this!"_ that odd, filtered voice growled. _"I can see your white hair, I can see your hazel eyes, I can see your long chin. All those things that had been described to me, now I can see them, now I know what they mean!"_

"Kaname, you can't handle this! You must stop, you can't control it!" Jushiro yelled. He turned his hands over in their binds, so at least one finger could point at the inside of his wrist.

_"You cannot understand why you need to sacrifice yourself, and so, now, your _reiatsu_ will be lost to Aizen. But you must die, that will be Justice!"_ And with that, Kaname moved back and pointed Suzumushi straight at him.

"Kaname! You'll destroy yourself this way!" Jushiro warned him. Of course, he was now in the dark again. "Hado #11: _Tsuzuri Raiden!"_ he cried, and instantly, electric bolts coursed through his fingers and burned apart the binds on his hands. Jushiro reached for his neck, and the electric burned the neck bind as well, while also singing his skin slightly. But he could not afford to pay that any mind as he sprung from the chair.

Several things happened very quicky after that. Jushiro suddenly could see the chamber again. A loud bang shook the walls. Kaname ran the stone chair with Suzumushi, which immediately shattered into dozens of silver shards. The forward momentum seemed to throw Kaname into the chair, which immediately grabbed ahold of him and bound him by his neck and arms against it.

_But this time, the chair's victim's zanpakuto had been shattered..._

The scream of agony made Wonderwiess scream as well. Jushiro watched in horror as the pieces fell off Kaname's face, like tiny pieces of shell falling to the marble floor. Smoke began to waft from Kaname's skin, and Jushiro could even almost feel the _reiatsu_ being sucked into the deathstone.

He didn't think about what he had said before, about being unable to ever forgive Kaname for causing him to raise his zapakuto against his beloved sensei. He forgot all about how much he hated what Kaname had done to him, the people he loved, and even the people who loved Kaname, like Sajin and Shuhei. _I cannot stand by and watch Tosen die like that!_ Jushiro grit his teeth and tried to pull the binds loose, but they were not budging. Cursing his own weaker muscles, Jushiro then decided to try the Hado #11 again, sending electric current through the binds, but this time, the currents were absorbed by the deathstone and had no effect on the binds at all.

_"Help me! Stop this!"_ Kaname shrieked. Jushiro's heart was pounding, but it was not fear that froze him in place, but the sense of helplessness. For there was no saving him... Now, he could only try and put him out of his misery. "Hado #31: _Shakkaho!"_ Jushiro bellowed, sending the red fireball at Kaname. Jushiro only prayed that it was enough to kill Kaname.

Wonderwiess began to cry with his misery. All that was left of Kaname now was the useless hilt of Suzumushi on the seat of the chair.

Jushiro sank to the marble floor because his legs were a bit too shaky. That had been, without a doubt, one of the most horrifying moments he'd ever witnessed. Jushiro turned his burning eyes to Wonderweiss, whose lilac eyes were filled with grief. "You poor child! You were close to Kaname, weren't you? I'm so sorry you had to see that, little one!" Jushiro reached his hand out to Wonderweiss. The young Arrancar grabbed it and wept a little more quietly.

* * *

_Next chapter, we will finally find out where Jushiro has hidden his zanpakuto. Please review, if you have opinions or want to say something. They make my day sometimes._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sosuke and Gin raced into the chamber. Jushiro was sitting on his heels, in front of the step, patting Wonderwiess' hand. Wonderwiess' other hand was wiping his nose. The chair was empty, save for that one grim reminder of what had just transpired...

"TOSEN!" Gin shrieked. Jushiro slowly turned his hazel eyes onto the pair of Shinigami traitors still remaining. He did not smile. He did not try to make excuses. Sosuke glared back at him.

_"What did you do?" _Sosuke demanded.

"It wasn't totally my fault. He got angry, and lost control over himself. That was so unlike Kaname, in all the years I'd known him, he was always calm, always loathing violence. I can't even imagine what it took to convince him to... His zanpakuto shattered as soon as the tip hit the back of the chair. I...did what little I could to try and get him out of the chair, but the binds would not let him go, as they did me. So, I put an end to his suffering. The chair's powers cause such excruciating pain, that even I, who despised Kaname for causing such trouble in my life, could not bear to watch him suffer. So, you got some of his _reiatsu, _but I don't think you got all of it. That, along with the _reiatsu_ I'd been bleeding off the entire time I'd been in the chair, I think that might equal one captain, one of the younger ones anyway, right?"

Gin said nothing, but his eyes were wide open and frightened. Sosuke was seething. "How did you escape the chair?"

"Oh, I was able to leave it all along. You know, you are right about me. I'm far too arrogant for my own good," Jushiro sighed in remorse. "I figured I'd be able to accomplish everything I could without even leaving the chair until the last second. Kaname's actions sort of forced my hand, I'm afraid. So, now, I suppose it might be a good time to finally answer the question that Kaname died trying to get. But, before I do that, I have to give you just a little pretext so that you understand what had happened here."

_"Where did you hide your zanpakuto?"_ Sosuke growled impatiently.

Jushiro stood up, holding Wonderwiess' hand. "Well, I've read all of Urahara's research. When you left, I made it my night-and-day task to tear apart the library, looking for every little speck of your_ reiatsu. _So, trust me on this, I know _exactly_ what you know. Including the idea of the chair to drain _reiatsu. _Alright, technically, _that_ isn't part of Urahara's research, but then, that business about the Oken isn't either. So you gave the plans to Szayel and he constructed it for you, in hopes of getting your first captain. I was very relieved that _I _was the first one you captured. By the way," Jushiro asked, "have you ever tried any of the other ideas that Urahara had developed? Specifically, when you found out that it was possible to bury a foreign object into a person's soul, have you ever tried it?"

"Actually, no, I haven't had a chance to try it yet," Sosuke admitted. "But as you know, I can get an object out. It's actually easier than I'd been led to first believe," he shrugged.

"Oh, that's good to know! Because, take it from me, burying something into someone's soul is so easy, it's almost scary!" Jushiro revealed with a wide smile. "Recognize this, Aizen?" Jushiro pulled a cylinder out of his sleeve and snapped it open. Several huge thorns grew out of the marble floor. Jushiro's hand grew a protective green layer around it. He smiled comfortingly at Wonderwiess, who seemed ever so slightly apprehensive. "Don't worry, this won't hurt even a single bit..." Jushiro reached into Wonderwiess' chest, and he felt the hilt of his zanpakuto with those strange fingertips.

"Son. Of. A. Bitch!" Sosuke growled as Jushiro drew Sogyo no Katawari from Wonderwiess' soul.

Gin reached for his zanpakuto, Shinso. "Don't you touch that until we get outside, child!" Jushiro ordered Gin, all kindness and smiles gone from his face. Gin put his hand down.

_"You fool!" _Sosuke bellowed at Gin. "Just push him back into the chair, and it's all over for him! Hado #1:_ Sho!" _And Sosuke's kido spell flew right into the chair, for Jushiro had long left that area, using _shunpo._

"We should take this outside. After all, we don't want all of Orihime's hard work to go to waste, do we?" Jushiro grinned, landing right next to Sosuke and taking a swing at him with his zanpakuto. Sosuke retreated, not drawing Kyoka Suigetsu. "You know, if you really want to go to Hueco Mundo, pitch yourself headfirst into oblivion, I really don't care, as long as you don't take the people I care about with you! And now, I am here, not to stop you, though that's what I'll be doing. Not to get revenge, though you would obviously think of that first. I'm here to show you just how _fruitless_ this all was. I'm here to show you just how far you've fallen!" Jushiro told him.

"There you go again with that business about how far I've fallen. I've risen far beyond your level, Ukitake! You don't even have any concept! You have no idea how close I am to godhood!" Sosuke said scornfully.

"If you don't think you've fallen, Aizen, then tell me why you have been hiding the fact that you have given yourself the Dark Gift! I'll tell you why you haven't. Because you don't want to show me the extent of your descent. You probably figured I'd disintegrate in the chair before you would need to reveal it to the world," Jushiro sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't flatter yourself, wretch! You shouldn't even be a captain of the Court Guard. You're too sickly, too weak! I'll show you just how weak you are, Ukitake!"

"Really, it's so ironic to me that your shikai is the power of 'complete hypnosis,' when _you_ are the one who is hypnotized by your own greed for power. I'm going to help you see, once and for all, just how far off you are from your quest to fill the throne in the the sky!" Jushiro warned him.

"Very well then! Dazzle me with your _brilliance,_ old man!" Sosuke snorted.

Jushiro smiled slightly, not nearly the cheerful grin he'd given before. "Oh, where should I begin? Hmmm, I know! Let's start with my dreary days in the library. Now, I've already told you that, after you left for Hueco Mundo, I had access to everything you looked up. But what you might not be aware of is that I've had access to Urahara's research long before that. You see, when people began to disappear from the Rukongai a hundred years ago, people in the Gotei 13 were getting more alarmed by the day. For my sensei to have sent three extra captains on a task force to find out what had happened to Squad Nine's captain, you can see that things had reached a critical mass. Even after Urahara was arrested, we knew that those people Yamamoto sent that night had become Hollowfied, and that there was a chance that such a disaster might happen again. So, Kurotsuchi was ordered to turn over Urahara's research. But I knew Mayuri well enough to know that there was a lot more that he hadn't turned over to the investigation. So, I cut a deal with him. He was so damned curious about my health..."

Sosuke's face turned sour. "You mean...?"

Jushiro could see some sign of discomfort. _He's already squirming. He doesn't even know the half of it, but he will! _"I know, I know... It was a sacrifice, true. He's got no boundaries when it comes to privacy, but the price I paid had reaped a reward. I had full and complete access to all of Urahara's research. Especially on the Hogyoku. Now needless to say this happened long before you had time enough again to devote to making up new hybrid Hollow monsters. After all, we had two World Wars to clean up after, and I know that took up a lot of your time." Jushiro glanced at Gin, whose face was now downcast. "It was after the end of the Second World War that you had the time to pursue your hobby again._ Remember Metastacia? _I remember him. That was my signal, that someone was up to their old tricks again, playing with Hollows, trying to make them somehow merged with Shinigami. That's when I returned to the library once again. This time, I had a specific purpose in mind...trying to smoke out a terrible enemy to Soul Society.

"And what better way than to...manipulate the information that this madman would be reading?"

"What do you mean, _manipulate the information?" _Sosuke demanded with an uncharacteristic note of discomfort.

Jushiro had to struggle not to sigh. "Nothing makes a nutjob more excited than dangling the carrot of 'World Domination' in front of him! You see, by the time your monster took my Kaien, it was becoming apparent that Urahara might not have been the culprit that your testimony to the Central 46 had made him out to be. We suspected Mayuri at first, which of course then made him much more cooperative than he'd been in the early days. After all, he wasn't terribly keen on going back to the Maggot's Nest. Now, I was allowed to actually _edit_ some of the information Urahara had put into the computer systems. And so I did..."

_"What information did you manipulate?" _Sosuke asked, now with dread.

"Well, mostly things about the Hogyoku. See, even though I had never seen it with my own eyes, I knew that it had a seal on it. Urahara kept that seal on it all the time, he wrote about it. The parts I changed were about the 'awakening' of the Hogyoku. You see, I figured that if some rogue Shinigami were to get ahold of it, he'd need to be convinced that he couldn't use it right away, so we'd have time to prepare for his eventual attack. So, I gave it four months from the time the seal was broken. The truth is, the Hogyoku can be used at any time with the seal still intact. Surely you must have noticed it. I even put in that little part about how, even if the Hogyoku wasn't 'fully awakened,' if the person using it was at least twice as powerful as an average captain, that it would awaken temporarily. Nice touch, huh? Kind of made you feel all smug and superior, right?" Jushiro asked him.

Sosuke's fists were both so tight that his fingers could have broken. "That's a load of nonsense! You didn't make that up! I don't even recall actually reading that part, I thought I discovered it on my own..." _But the wording he used! Could I have really read it after all?_

"Well, I had to supply some sort of explanation as to why you'd actually be able to use it even though it was 'sealed.' And you didn't discover that on your own, you read it, among all that endless scribble. It's a miracle that you don't _really _need glasses after reading through all that! Well, at this late date, it really doesn't matter anymore. You've been using the Hogyoku for months now. It will not grow any more powerful. Whatever you have planned, you'd better do it soon. Oh, that's right, you were planning on creating a new Oken..." Jushiro mused.

_"Now what?" _Sosuke asked.

"Well, I was just thinking about how you found that information in the Central 46 library... Doesn't that make you a little...suspicious now?"

_"Yes," _Sosuke admitted.

"Just think. The instructions for creating a new Oken was in the library. Almost any captain could have read it, or any of the Central 46 also! But for all these millenia, the Royal Guard had only allowed_ the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 _to know of it's location, and they never wrote it down! But almost any other captain or member of Central 46 had access to the instructions to create a new one? What would be the point of taking the precation of keeping the location of the original Oken such a tightly held secret when access to the creation of a new one was so much more readily available? I mean, someone like Kurotsuchi is an ace at hacking into Central 46's records, and this was before you did us the favor of killing all of them off. Why would they need a new Oken made anyway? Are they worried they might lose the first one?" Jushiro mused.

"What if Yamamoto died without telling anyone the location of the Oken?" Sosuke countered.

Jushiro crossed his arms and grinned. "Well, I guess then the Soul King would have to unlock himself out of his royal dimension to tell the new Captain Commander where the Oken is."

Sosuke sighed. "I have to admit, that makes a lot of sense... _Wait a minute! Are you saying-?"_

"That the reason I figured out _your _plan so quickly is because it was originally _my_ plan? Yes, that is what I'm saying! I just had to confirm that you had actually read all of it, and sure enough, you had. Very efficient, Aizen. You followed my instructions to the letter. You found out_ 'how to make a new key.' _You found the place where the _reishi_ is so concentrated that it has become a jureichi. You found out that you needed one hundred thousand souls worth of _reishi_ to create the Oken, along with the _jureichi. _And so, you tried to line all that up by attacking Karakura Town, a highly populated_ jureichi. _Perfect! Just what I'd expect from an excellent calligrapher!" Jushiro nearly sneered.

"Why did you do this? What was your purpose?" Sosuke gasped.

"It's simple. I wanted to 'kill two birds with one stone.' I wanted to smoke out this traitor, and, I wanted to find the Shinigami who had been Hollowfied. Most likely, Karakura Town wasn't the _jureichi _until a few months ago. Before that, it could have been anywhere. But I figured that it would be anywhere that eight very high level Shinigami were staying. And it's because of Kurosaki-kun that they sought out Karakura Town, as they had recently discovered a ninth Shinigami like them. What's more, Urahara, Tsukabishi, and Shihoin were there too! The poor town was doomed unless the Gotei 13 stepped in! Good thing we knew exactly where to look and had four months to prepare, wasn't it?" Jushiro asked.

_"Prepare? _You didn't even need to _do _any of this! It was all a lie!" Sosuke ranted, now completely furious and shaking.

"Well, if you're worried that Urahara was kept a little too busy these past few months, let me reassure you that someone like him and Mayuri need to be kept busy or they get into trouble. And it worked in another way. I found those Shinigami that you doomed with your evil," Jushiro said with a genuine smile.

Sosuke sneered. "You used me to find those _criminals? _Why are they so important to you?"

"Are you really going to keep that up? We all now know _you_ were the one who turned them into those hybrids, against their will, and you were going to_ murder _them after finishing your cruel experiment. And just think, back then you didn't even have the Hogyoku to do it! Why are they so unimportant to you? You playing God down here in Hell," Jushiro finally sneered, turning more and more scornful by the second. "You don't need to know why they were in any way important to me."

"I'm surprised that you haven't claimed that you suspected me long ago," Sosuke commented coolly, regaining his legendary control.

"No, I didn't suspect _you,_ Aizen. I didn't suspect anyone in particular. But then, you never suspected that the information you'd been working with was tampered with, did you? And if you had, would you have suspected that I was the culprit? Now, I think it's time that we settled this, don't you?"

Sosuke sneered himself. "You're going up against me by yourself?"

"What do you care?" Jushiro asked.

"If I defeat you, I get to put you into that chair again...Surely that would concern you," Sosuke explained.

"I'm not concerned. I don't believe that you will be able to put me back into that chair again." Jushiro unsheathed Sogyo no Katawari. "Especially if we release our Shikai in this building, fragile as it seems to be. Tosen was only able to release his Bankai in here because his_ reiatsu _level was never high enough to cause that kind of problem here. And all three of us know our levels _are_ too high."

"He's got a point, Gin. If this building were to fall down, the chair would be buried under the rubble. Fine, meet us by the front gates of Las Noches in five minutes. I'll give you the extra time; I know how slow your_ shunpo _must be from your debilitating illness," Sosuke grinned graciously yet mockingly, then, he nodded to Gin. They both disappeared.

Jushiro grinned, sheathed Sogyo no Katawari, then began a _kido _spell. "Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly though the heavens. Bakudo #77:_ Tenteikura!" _The square of light appeared before Jushiro's outstretched hands, and his arms were covered with the glimmering zigzag lines of the spell. He began to speak: _"Everyone, this building is about to be destroyed, you have two minutes to evacuate! I repeat, you have two minutes from now to evacuate the building before it is destroyed!" _Within ten seconds, the first of the Arrancars began to arrive in the downstairs chambers.

"What's the meaning of this? What are doing out of your chair?" Szayel demanded to know.

"Would you like to get strapped in yourself?" Grimmjow growled.

"You...you're rebelling! Where's Lord Aizen?" Szayel gasped.

"You'd better get moving, Szayel, or you'll be under a pile of rocks in a minute and a half! Take Wonderwiess with you and get the hell out of here!" Grimmjow warned him.

"But what about my research lab? That's going to be buried too!"

"Really? That's great!" Jushiro declared brightly.

Tesla appeared. "Lord Grimmjow, what's going on? Why is the building going to be destroyed?"

"That much should be obvious. Have you seen anyone else?" Grimmjow asked impatiently.

"Lord Aaroniero heard the captain's voice and spooked. He ran off," Tesla answered, eyeing Jushiro warily.

_Damn! Now I'll have to go look for that little coward later! _"Fine, but where are Ulquiorra and Orihime?" Jushiro asked.

"Tesla, we have to find them!" Grimmjow gasped. "We don't have time to wait for them, Aizen's going to come back if we take too long!"

"No need to look for us," Ulquiorra told them, as he arrived with Orihime in tow.

"Great, now, let's get out of here," Grimmjow said as he turned to the wall that Orihime had fixed a little earlier.

"Good idea," Ulquiorra cut in, firing a blast of green light from his finger. His _cero_ blew a hole in the wall, allowing easy access outside.

"Hey! I was gonna do that!" Grimmjow complained. "What are you trying to do, impress Ukitake with your _cero?"_

"Well, you were taking too long, _Sexta!" _Ulquiorra shot back.

"You're always brown nosing, Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow complained. "First it was for Aizen, and now..."

"Oh. God. No." Jushiro even developed a slight twitch in one eye as he listened to them. The two Arrancars turned around. "You both are going to get to fire off lots and lots of _ceros_ once we get outside! Now let's go!" Jushiro used his _shunpo_ to end up about half a kilometer outside the fifth tower. From outside, Jushiro could see the fake daytime, and that there were four other towers like that one in a cluster. Tesla, Grimjow, Orihime and Ulquiorra joined him outside.

"Tesla-san, you seem to be the one around here who might be able to figure out at which points it would be best to blast, in order to cause the tower to collapse as quickly as possible. How can we do that?" Jushiro asked him.

"Either we all blast a_ cero _here, or we scatter around the tower. Doing that might cause the tower to collapse on top of itself, rather than falling to one side or another," Tesla told him.

"That's the better option. I want that chair buried under so much rubble that it might never get uncovered again if I can help it. This is the north side of the tower, Ulquiorra, I want you to go to the south end with Orihime. After you blast the tower with your _cero_ I want you to take Orihime to the Living World. Take this with you," Jushiro gave him a small token with a flaming skull on it. "Give it to Yamamoto-sotaicho. Orihime knows who he is. If you give him that token, and tell him what happened here, he will help you both. Grimmjow, take the west side, and Tesla, go to the east. Let everyone have that last two minutes before starting, alright?"

"Ukitake-taicho!" Orihime gasped, "Aren't you going to leave with us?"

"I still have some things to do here before I leave, Orihime-chan. But you can tell Kuchiki that I'll be back soon," he told her with a smile.

"Yes, I will!" Orihime answered. Then, Ulquiorra sighed.

"What's the matter, Ulquiorra-kun?" Orihime asked him.

"Here we will be destroying the building, after we cleaned up the kitchen and took out the trash..." Ulquiorra grumbled.

"Trash, huh? I've heard you've got a lot of that around here, Ulquiorra," Jushiro joked. Ulquiorra hiccupped again, then gave Jushiro a warning glance with those impossibly green eyes. He and Orihime vanished before Jushiro could dare make another joke at his peril.

"What else could you hope to accomplish here? Do you really think you can kill Aizen?" Grimmjow asked.

"I won't know until I go to face him. And I won't go to face him until this building and it's destructive contents are obliterated as much as possible. Now, let's get to it!"

"Right!" both Tesla and Grimmjow agreed, and then, they both also used flash step to leave. Jushiro drew a deep breath and faced the fifth tower.

He decided in order to produce a big enough blast, he'd need to recite the incantation. Besides, though he had seemed to gain their trust, Jushiro had to make sure these Arrancars still remaining knew that he, the Shinigami Captain, was still the more powerful. Big fireballs seem to go a long distance in impressing people with your power... "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado #31: _Shakkaho!"_

The red fireball from Jushiro's hands flared brilliantly. Then it hit it's mark, making the building waver, but it didn't start falling yet. _The _reiatsu_ released from that blast would have been enough to wake up even the soundest sleeper, _Jushiro thought unhappily._ Aizen and Ichimaru are bound to have noticed it! Let's just hope that this works quickly! _The earth began to rumble, and Jushiro could swear he heard a _cero _blast in the distance. Jushiro could only remain there long enough to see the tower begin to crumble. He had to flash step further and further back as the cloud of debris and red stone raced toward him and everything else surrounding it.

_Now, I can fight with some more hope in my heart, now that no one else can be subjected to that horror buried under there! In helping me, you helped yourselves, and I'm sure you all understood this! Good luck, all of you, and thank you! _And with that, Jushiro headed to the front gates of Las Noches...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The front gates of Las Noches were like something from a painting by Salvador Dali. Huge pillars placed at random spots, a vast expanse of rough hewn slate tiles paving the way to the pair of front doors. A fountain, nearly the width and length of a soccer field, which surely had never had water flow through it in the entire time it had been here. Jushiro appeared at last, standing on the lip of the enormous bowl.

Sosuke smiled. He stood right next to what resembled a throne. "So, your _shunpo_ is not up to par, is it? It took you an awfully long time to get here," he commented. Jushiro didn't dare answer. He simply smiled ever so slightly. "Well, while you are catching your breath, I'll tell you some trivia about this place where we stand now. I think you should get a proper impression of Las Noches before you die.

"It was built by the late, great King Barrigan. He reigned as the King of Hueco Mundo until he agreed to allow me to rule Las Noches. You know, it's interesting that you mentioned World War Two. I used to give Barrigan tributes, often, and he'd usually take them here. Our deal was sealed right here where I stand, " Sosuke told Jushiro, pointing to the tiles under his feet near the great doors, "after I gave him Adolf Hitler's Hollowfied soul as tribute. Barrigan devoured him right here."

"Wait a minute! Zaraki was sent to take care of Hitler! How did you get ahold of him?" Jushiro asked. _And here I had always thought everybody was far too busy to cause trouble during that war! What was Aizen doing?_

"You're right of course. Kenpachi did his job, and did it well, delivering the Hollow of Hitler to Hueco Mundo with one slice of his nameless zanpakuto! I merely collected him, and brought him to meet his ultimate fate here. Remember, old man, one of the very first things we are taught about Hollows in school is that they eat eachother in order to gain more and more power. Barrigan wanted to eat a dictator. What better one than Adolf Hilter?"

"I...I truly don't know what to say about that. While that could be considered justice, certainly, having someone like this Barrigan gain his powers by eating him..." Jushiro sighed.

"Barrigan, by the way, had been my Segundo Espada, just to refresh your memory. And to be sure, Kaname considered it justice. All I considered it was a means to an end..." Sosuke shrugged. "Well, obviously that trivia is not nearly enough to even annoy you, let alone outrage you. But Barrigan was a hungry king, insatiable, it seemed. All those times Gin and I went to Birkenau camp...you do remember what Birkenau camp was, don't you, Ukitake?"

"Sosuke, please, don't tell him about all that!" Gin gasped, after having been so uncharacteristically silent.

"Oh, why not? I think it's time that he knew the truth about what we were doing there, don't you?" Sosuke scoffed.

"No, no I don't think so, Sosuke," Gin answered in a near panic.

Jushiro frowned deeply. "For you to bring up the second Auschwitz concentration camp doesn't bode well! You told the Court Guard that you were cleaning up the place, as it had become a breeding ground for Hollows. At the time, this seemed like a very reasonable explanation. _What were you two miserable bastards really doing there?"_

Sosuke laughed, and it was a cold, horrible laugh indeed. "When the Nazis unloaded their prisoners from the overcrowded trains, they would sort them in groups. One group, the smaller group, would be sent to the right, to the third camp, the work camp, where the able-bodied, mostly men, would be worked to death, starved and possibly die from disease. The other group, mostly old people, women with children, and of course, those very children...would be sent to the left. To the gas chambers, to the crematoriums... Those souls, of those people, bombarded Birkenau camp! Barrigan had heard of this, and he craved those souls as well. I would feed him those souls, _especially the children's, _as though they were grapes I was feeding my master." Sosuke watched Jushiro's face for a change in expression, and laughed even louder at the sight of the horror crossing the elder Shinigami's face. "I stooped to conquer too, Ukitake! While you made deals with Mayuri to try and screw me over, I was solidifying my power base. Barrigan was_ addicted _to those little one's souls, _so pure, so young... _He must have fancied that it would help him stay alive, since most Arrancar don't live nearly as long as Shinigami have the potential to. Those poor, poor children! First they get gassed to death, then, their little souls are taken to Hueco Mundo and fed, one after another, in a line, to a frightening Hollow King! They whimpered and cried, looking for their mothers, but those women had already been eaten, so they had no one. Look at you, the weak Shinigami! How your tears flow down your pale face! Aren't you angry yet, old man? Aren't you the defender of women and children, Ukitake? Well, what does it matter? You could never have stopped me, just like you can't stop me now!" Sosuke sneered.

Jushiro struggled mightily to remain focused and calm. His _reiatsu_ threatened to blaze out of his skin, so he made a decision to let it slowly flow, like turning a faucet on, little by little increasing the flow, so he didn't melt the entire palace complex down with it...

* * *

Ichigo stirred on BawaBawa's back at last. "I can sense something. What's that?" he asked.

"You're getting better at detecting _reiatsu, _finally!" Shinji commented. "It's slowly increasing, too."

Shunsui looked excited. "Ichigo-kun, don't you know who that is?"

"No. Oh wait! Yeah, I think I do! You mean..._that's?"_

_"That's Jushiro!" _Shunsui announced happily.

"Oh, my goodness! He's..." Nel'liel gasped. Her two fraccion began to tremble in eachother's arms.

"Yeah, he's that strong!" Shinji drawled.

"Are you kidding? He's got a long way to go yet. He only does this if someone's really pissed him off. His body can't always withstand his own _reiatsu," _Shunsui explained to Ichigo.

"I...I don't know if I'll be able to get much closer to that area," Ichigo admitted, having a little trouble breathing.

"Just as well, since we don't want you anywhere near Aizen anyway," Shinji shrugged. "Wow, you're trashed! Since when are you so weak that you'd be battered like this? Who did this to you anyway?"

"Just shut the hell up, Shinji!" Ichigo snarled. "I have to get closer, I have to stop Aizen!"

"Listen to me Ichigo! When we make it where Jushiro is, you need to get to Jushiro, got it? He'll be able to take care of things from there!" Shunsui told him.

"Alright, fine! But, what about you two?" Ichigo asked.

"Our only real mission here is to get Jushiro out of Hueco Mundo in one piece. After that, if we inflict damage on Aizen and company, that's just icing on the cake," Shunsui answered.

"Hey, bullshit! I'm going to get my revenge on him!" Shinji announced angrily. "Ichigo, I will be staying here if that's what it takes. I will not leave Hueco Mundo until I have destroyed him. If I don't come back, you have to tell the others. Hiyori will take over things at the warehouse..."

"Which is plenty of incentive to keep you alive, Shinji!" Ichigo grumbled. _Hiyori as the captain of the Visoreds? No fucking way!_

* * *

"Gin, I beleive that I am beginning to detect a few _visitors. _They're heading for the front door. Perhaps you should bring them over here, so they can see the old man's dead body hanging from the rafters or, maybe his head up on a pike. Yes, that's more like it...more bloody," Sosuke suggested.

"Right!" Gin answered.

"Bakudo #62: _Hyapporankan!" _Jushiro called out. Gin had turned to leave, but bars of bright light started to persue him. The Hundred Steps Fence hunted him, nearly catching his shoulder once, another finally pinning his leg to the stony floor. He cried out and fell. Sosuke was there in an instant, grasping the bar of light with his bare hand and causing it to shatter.

"Move, Gin! I'm not going to help you again!" Sosuke warned him as more bars of light rained down over their heads. Gin used _shunpo_ to vanish. Sosuke dodged a few more of the rods, but then got pinned down by his chest.

"That was uncharacteristically sacrificial of you, Aizen," Jushiro commented coldly, remaining on the bowl of the fountain. "Gin will most likely be facing Shunsui. That's not a good match-up for him, unless his sword skills have improved."

"Never mind," Sosuke snarled, reaching up to grasp the bar of light and breaking it apart as he had with Gin. Then he rose to hsi feet and finally drew Kyoka Suigetsu. "Your dear Kyoraku has never faced an enemy like he will be facing when Gin gets to him. Just as you have never faced an enemy like me. I see you, old man! Closing your eyes won't keep you from becoming Kyoka Suigetsu's unwitting slave!"

"I will not become your zanpakuto's next victim, and you won't trick me with it's powers, either. You barely managed to fool Retsu with your illusions. What makes you think you have a chance agianst me?" Jushiro commented coldly.

"You must be going senile! You have already been subjected to Kyoka Suigetsu's powers. You have no hope of resisting him again, now that you've seen his illusion," Sosuke snickered. "Closing your eyes won't protect you! I can control all five senses, all you're doing is cutting yourself off from one of your own senses, rather than protecting yourself from the first exposure!"

"Ah, but the question is, have I really been exposed to your shikai, Aizen?" Jushiro asked. He had sealed his eyes shut, not wanting to open them by accident.

"I demonstrated Kyoka Suigetsu's false shikai for a rather large audience of important people. Don't you remember?"

"No. I was home sick that day..." Jushiro answered.

Sosuke's brows drew down. "No, I'm sure you were there..."

"Oh, that's alright that you didn't notice I wasn't there. I don't wear bells in my hair or wear an expensive scarf. I don't paint my face in different colors, and I don't even hide my zanpakuto inside a walking stick. And no offense to my dear friend, but pink...it's just not happening on me. Nor was I there the day you were discovered 'dead' by your poor vice-captain. Nor was I able to attend your memorial service. Too ill to sit through it while coughing the whole time. Sorry about that."

"You went to Central 46 to appeal Kuchiki's sentence!" Sosuke reminded him. "I'm sure you saw them in the chambers! That's when you were exposed to my true shikai! I even saw you out the window, going in!"

"I had a coughing spell, and I had to send poor Sentaro and Kiyone in without me, not wanting to annoy the 'Central 46' with my illness," Jushiro admitted. "Almost two thousand years ago, when I was merely a student, I fell ill for the first time. And at that time, my sensei told me that my illness was my Dark Gift. Perhaps I never truly understood, until today, what he meant by that," Jushiro admitted.

"So, you've never seen Kyoka Suigetsu? Are you sure about that?"

"No, I'm not," Jushiro confessed. "I wouldn't know whether I saw it or not. Isn't that it's very nature? Still, I'd rather not release my shikai on something as piddling as this. That's why I have my eyes closed."

Sosuke smiled, and it was a genuine one. "It's possible that you haven't! Well, I'm not too upset, it would have made things a bit too easy for me anyway. So close your eyes, but I'm warning you, as a sighted person, you will never be able to fight me off while blind. You're no Tosen Kaname!" Sosuke roared and lauched himself forward, brandishing his zanpakuto.

"Thank God for that!" Jushiro retorted, and blocked Sosuke's first attack. _Yes, it's true that it's not easy fighting while blind. But I must completely trust my third eye now!_

Sosuke attempted to strike again, but Jushiro dodged that as well. He leaped from the fountain to the slate tiles below. Sosuke dashed before him, as he went in for what he thought was the kill...Jushiro brought Sogyo no Katawari down...and in one swing, one perfectly timed blow...

"No!" Sosuke gasped, as the blade sliced into his chest, deep into his body. Jushiro drew out his blade, and Sosuke dropped to the floor, blood flowing freely and staining the tiles.

After flicking his blade to clear some blood off with a twist of his wrist, Jushiro retreated about twenty feet away. He opened his eyes, saw Sosuke struggling. _"All waves, now rise and become my shield. Lightning, strike now and become my blade!" _Sogyo no Katawari separated into those two distinct blades joined together with the red rope and the five keys dangling from it.

"What are you going to do? Make me come after you? I can't," Sosuke admitted.

"You don't think I'm _that_ stupid, do you? With my zanpakuto in it's shikai form, I can now tell that you are indeed not using yours," Jushiro explained.

"How do you know that?" Sosuke asked weakly.

"Because my blades would have started absorbing Kyoka Suigetsu's attack. Since they are not doing so, I can only conclude that, yes, that blow I dealt you is fatal. But you and I both know you can save your own life, don't we? I would hate to think, after killing my Kaien and nearly executing an innocent young woman, after sending your captain and seven other people into a criminal exile, after all this trouble, after all the lives you shredded to gain power, that one blow from my sword would be the end of all this. _It's time, Aizen, to put the mask on," _Jushiro told him coldly.

"If your shikai would have been able to disrupt Kyoka Suigetsu, then why did you do this?" Sosuke asked.

"Because releasing one's shikai so quickly in battle is what little boys do, Aizen. I told you I didn't really want to release my Shikai while just swordfighting with you, I'm more than capable of handling someone with your skills with the sword. You're wasting time arguing with me, put the mask on, or you'll die!" Jushiro ordered him.

Sosuke glared at Jushiro. "You really did this to force me to transform! _You stupid old bastard! _If I do that, you will undoubtedly be overwhelmed."

"So what's stopping you? If you are so powerful with it on, then do it! Why are you hesitating?" Jushiro asked heatedly.

Struggling to rise enough to keep his head up, Sosuke muttered, "You will regret this sorely, you old fool." And then, he made a motion with his hands, as though he was putting on a pair of glasses.

"Now, we can fight truly," Jushiro told him, holding his released zapakuto at the ready. Sosuke stood up...wearing his Hollow mask, fully healed, and raised his own zapakuto. And with that, they charged into eachother, and the clash began!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ichimaru Gin could sense the blazing reiatsu behind him as he flash-stepped through the endless desert of Hueco Mundo. His mind was shooting like lightning with thoughts, relentless and hopeless... _Unless Sosuke has some kind of trick up his sleeve, which I figure he's bound to have, he's going have a hell of a time. Ukitake might not look like much, but I remember when Byakuya-kun and I attended the Academy, we picked our idols from among the Gotei 13..._

_Byakuya could've picked his own grandfather, Ginrei-sama, but instead, he picked the man who had once saved Ginrei's life, Ukitake Jushiro. I'm sure Byakuya didn't come to that decision lightly, he's hard to impress. But I remember his words and reasoning so well: "After all, Ichimaru-kun, Ukitake-taicho had been trained by Yamamoto-sotaicho himself! Even my grandfather can't claim that!" Indeed, for that matter, neither can Sosuke! To this day, Kuchiki probably still has great faith in his former idol and sometimes mentor. After all, he'd entrusted Rukia-chan to Ukitake and his squad, hadn't he?_

_Everyone thought I'd picked Sosuke, had worshipped the ground that Hirako Shinji's vice-captain had walked on. _

_And now, he sends me to my possible death facing Yamamoto's other hand-fed student, Kyoraku..._

_And Tosen's dead...dead!_

_I wish to God that Sosuke hadn't been so rash to tell Ukitake about our activities here. That's only bound to make Ukitake so angry that he ends up killing Sosuke before I can even get back to him._

_It would seem as thought my "idol" has fallen, just as Ukitake had said. He truly thought he was a god, for a while there._

_Was Byakuya right? Can Ukitake overtake Aizen?_

Gin now sensed Kyoraku's reiatsu, and unbelievably, Hirako's and the Kurosaki boy's too!

_I don't want to die before I can get back to Aizen!_

Gin flash-stepped to a stretch of darkened desert, where there was a large purple worm heading straight toward him. _They're on that thing. Looks like the former Third Espada is looking for trouble. She's allied herself with Shinigami too. Never mind. I have to do what I have to do_. He made a motion over his head, as though he was pulling a visor down over his face. His Hollow mask swirled and hardened over his face, and Gin felt the dark power flood his spirit-body.

"Hey, we're gonna have trouble, guys!" Shinji announced. Ichigo glared at Shinji.

"I can sense that...Who is that?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, yeah, you wouldn't recognize him that well, would you? That is Aizen's top cohort, Ichimaru Gin." Shinji stood up on BawaBawa's back with a look of cold fury on his normally amused face. He even began to slowly draw Sakanade, his zanpakuto.

Ichigo stammered, "Shinji, how did he get to become a Visored?"

"Is that what that is?" Shunsui breathed. "That _reiatsu? _Yes, now I'm beginning to be able to distinguish between a Shinigami and a...Visored?"

Shinji gave Ichigo a murderous look. "Listen to me, both of you! Ichimaru is not one of the Masked Army! Never call him a Visored again!"

Ichigo took half a step back in reaction to Shinji's vehemence. Shunsui frowned as though he was going to say something to Shinji, but then decided to keep his words under his hat (even though he wasn't wearing it just then). Instead, he drew out his zapakuto, first the long tachi, then the shorter wakizashi, and crossed them before him.

"Aw, damn, Kyoraku, we don't have time for Koten Kyokotsu's crap right now," Shinji growled a bit angrily. As usual, Ichigo had no idea what Shinji was talking about.

Shunsui ignored Shinji's protests completely. _"Flower Wind rage and Flower God roar, Heavenly Wind rage and Heavenly Demon sneer!" _This released his zanpakuto, tranforming them into a set of rather wicked-looking Chinese scimitar with long red tassles dangling from the hilts. "You mean to tell me you're not going to start _your_ game, Hirako? This is going to be fun! Nel'liel-san, we're leaving you and your_ fracción _here, and I am most grateful for your help getting us this far. Now, Ichigo-kun, we'd better hurry. Ichimaru's bound to release his shikai any minute, and I know you've been in it's path once before, so you know it's tough, right?"

Ichigo recalled, in a very quick flash, when he's been at the gate of the Seireitei, and both he and the gate-keeper Jidanbo had been knocked right out of the way by Ichimaru's wakizashi's release. "Yeah, let's get out of here!" All three Shinigami leaped from BawaBawa's back. Nel'liel had BawaBawa retreat, so he would not be harmed by Ichimaru-sama's Shinso attack.

Ichigo saw Gin first. _It was surreal, seeing a former shinigami captain sporting his very own Visored, no, sorry, make that, Hollow mask. _Since the other two had at least taken out their zanpakuto, Ichigo thought he'd better be prepared with Zangetsu. _But I don't really want to go to my Visored form. After what happened with Ulquiorra, I'm worried that it's not stable. Shinji's going to notice it._

"It's just you meeting us out here, Ichimaru? Where's that son of a bitch Aizen?" Shinji raged upon seeing him.

_"Shoot to kill, Shinso!" _Gin's blade flew past Shinji, to attempt to hit Shunsui. Rather than try to use _shunpo_ to avoid the blade, Shunsui blocked Shinso with Koten Kyokotsu crossed together in front of him. With a few sparks, all three blades collided, then repelled eachother. Gin let out a growl from behind his mask, then, he fired a _cero. _This, Shunsui dodged.

"You're lucky Koten Kyokotsu is not in the mood to play with you, Ichimaru," Shunsui commented. "Or such rash actions might get you in trouble!"

Gin used _sonido, _to appear beside Shunsui. He aggressively engaged Shunsui in a very fast combat. Shunsui had the two larger blades, so obviously Gin must have thought he had the advantage. _"Heh, you're faster than I thought, old man!" _Gin's filtered voice snickered.

"It's obvious what you are trying to do. But what if I decided I'm not going to play your way? What would you say to that?" Shunsui asked him.

_"Do you want to die, like your pal?" _Gin answered back.

"Jushiro will not die," Shunsui grinned.

_"He'll put up a hard fight, but he doesn't have the kind of strength he needs to kill Aizen Sosuke. He'll die for sure, it's just a matter of time. Sosuke promised to have his head up on a pike by the time you get to him!" _Gin laughed.

"Well, then what am I doing wasting time with you?" Shunsui asked, using _shunpo_ to extricate himself from Gin.

_"Oh no you don't, Geezer!" _Gin warned, quickly persuing him.

"Hey, what about me?" Shinji raged. "Come on, Ichigo!"

_"Stop! I'm not letting you both double-team Aizen!" _Gin yelled, then his mask dissolved. Very briefly watching as Ichigo left behind them, Gin thought _I just know Aizen will die if they get to him before I do!_

* * *

Yamamoto Genryusai had stationed himself in Urahara's living world store. Everyone was treading very quietly there since yesterday. The _senkaimon_ had been opening and closing nearly non-stop. Unohana-taicho left her vice-captain in the living world, where she was tending to those who had been healed already but needed follow-up, like Matsumoto Rangiku. Byakuya had been back and forth several times. So had Rukia and Renji, both of whom Byakuya had a good mind to leave in the living world until Ichigo came back.

So when the word broke that a very surprising person had re-emerged early that afternoon, the place was turned nearly upside down. "Sotaicho! I can scarcely believe it, but I saw her myself!" Sasakibe Chojiro, Genryusai's normally very sober vice-captain, stammered.

_"The Inoue girl? _Where is she now?" Genryusai demanded.

"Er, well, she's down with Matsumoto-fukutaicho, but, before you go down there, I must inform you that...well...she has a companion. He will not leave her side. Bared his fangs, the cretin did!" Chojiro complained.

"An Arrancar?" Genryusai asked shortly. "Well, we shall see about this!" The old man seemed to vanish in front of his vice-captain, then reappeared in front of Kotetsu Isane, who had been quivering in the corner of the makeshift sickroom. He turned away from her to face Orihime and Ulquiorra.

"Yamamoto-sotaicho?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I am Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Captain of Squad One. Which of the Espada are you?"

"I am the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer."

"Why have you come here voluntarily among those who would consider you an enemy?"

"Because of many things. Because it was what was best for Orihime. If she spent any more time in Hueco Mundo, she would have lost her ability to return to the living world."

Rangiku eyed Orihime, who gasped. Genryusai explained, "Sadly, that time has already passed. Your gesture is well meant, but unfortunately, Inoue-san will now have to wear a _gigai_ in order to interact with most people in this world."

"You mean...I'm dead?" Orihime asked.

"You've been suspecting it for some time, I can tell. Being in a _gigai _will help you for the short term. Once people notice that you have stopped aging, however, you might decide that it's time for you to leave this world. And when you are ready, Soul Society has a place for you. Now, Espada Ulquiorra, you said there were many reasons why you are here. I would like to hear them."

Orihime tiptoed over to Rangiku, one of her better friends from Soul Society. While Ulquiorra spoke, Rangiku just sat up and hugged Orihime, who started weeping silently. "Aizen has been showing increasing signs of madness."

"You surely have a gift for understatement, Ulquiorra-san," Chojiro commented.

Genryusai eyed his vice-captain, then said, "You know what time it is, Sasakibe."

"Time for tea," he responded, setting about on his favorite task.

Ulquiorra, in spite of himself, made a face. "Tea? Here too?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aizen always sat us down for tea while discussing strategy," Ulquiorra frowned.

"Him? Drinking _tea? _He used to drink a bucket of coffee every day, back when he was captain of Squad Five, uh, yeah..." Rangiku trailed off.

"You didn't want to say that Ichimaru told you that, Matsumoto-san. No need to mince words around me. So, Aizen has been showing signs of losing control over his reasoning? A sharp increase in _reiatsu _can cause that in some Shinigami. I have no doubt that he has made full use of the Hogyoku, and not only to enhance your powers, Ulquiorra-san."

"You would be correct in that statement, Captain Yamamoto."

"These facts do not change that you are among enemies, though you haven't shown much agression toward us today. What else has brought you here?"

Ulquiorra took his hand out of his pocket, and handed Genryusai a token with a flaming skull. The old man's eyes widened, and suddenly, the entire aura of the room changed. "What do you know of my son?" he asked Ulquiorra very quietly.

"Last I saw him, when he gave me that and told me to take Orihime here, we had all just destroyed one of the towers and he was off to go engage Aizen. He's your son? No wonder he was so confident! He showed no fear of Aizen whatsoever."

"He is not my son of my blood, but in every way that matters... So, he is fighting Aizen?" Isane gasped in fear, and Rangiku sniffled as the old man spoke. "You both are to come with me. You are officially under my protection until Ukitake and Kyoraku with his team come back from Hueco Mundo."

"Under your protection?" Orihime asked.

"Yes indeed, both of you, since from what I can see, Ulquiorra-san isn't leaving without you. And, I have no intention of letting you out of my sight, undoing Jushiro-kun's hard work! If he could place his faith in this Arrancar, and this Arrancar made good on his word to bring you back, then the least I could do is place him under my direct protection!"

Orihime and Ulquiorra were made to follow Genryusai into the next room, but just as Orihime was departing, she saw the shadow of someone in the window.

_It's one of Kuroaski-kun's mysterious friends from that warehouse. Wasn't her name Lisa?_

* * *

Jushiro panted. "Come on, Aizen! If you were really a god, you would have flattened me by now!" he taunted.

"Not smart, Ukitake! Your goading will land you in your casket!" The Hollowfied Sosuke, with a mask that looked rather like he had the outlines of a pair of glasses flew forward, blasting off a cero, which Jushiro had to absorb with Waves, then Sosuke appeared before him, branishing Kyoka Suigetsu for a final blow. But Jushiro let Lightning release Sosuke's cero right in front of Sosuke, so he'd have no time to dodge, while Jushiro used shunpo to get away before getting caught in the resulting blast. "Ooh! Not nice, Ukitake! If only all your friends could see you now, how ruthless you really are!" Sosuke had part of his arm blown off.

Jushiro was not in such great shape himself. He had increased his endurance by training with Zaraki in the Seireitei before Zaraki had to go to Hueco Mundo on his assignment. But this did not entirely overcome his physical limits. There was no doubt about it, by now, only his_ reiatsu _level was keeping him in this fight.

"I always had such respect for you! You were always so kind, so noble! You even saved my life once! Is there anyone whose life you haven't saved? Oh, yes, there's one..." Sosuke drawled.

"Is that all you think will save you now? Bringing up Kaien again? Surely you can do better, Aizen! Or can't you?" Jushiro sniffed. His heart was heavy, though, but he was loathe to let Sosuke think he'd scored a hit with that remark.

"It's for the better that I became Hirako's vice-captain, instead of yours. I kept waiting for you to ask, but you never did. It's interesting how later on, you chased after Shiba until it was pretty embarrassing for everybody to watch! I should have made Hirako chase after me like that, instead of consenting so easily! He would have asked again, he said he wanted me as his vice-captain really badly, just so he could keep his eye on me! So, he would have asked again if I had said no, right?" Sosuke rambled.

"This is starting to sound creepy, Aizen," Jushiro frowned. "I'm not sure I want to know what the point of this is." _Of course, he's only starting to get so chatty because he's waiting for his arm to grow back. That's going to work in my favor too, naturally. I need time to rest as well. I'm having trouble catching my breath..._

"It's just this. You had asked me how I could resort to allying myself with Menos in order to gain power. I know your philosophy, that we are all born with our gifts, and that all we have to do in our lives is find them and bring them out of the deep recesses of our souls. I know that is _not_ how one acheives greatness. One acheives greatness by taking all that the world has to offer, turning it to serve his goals! That useless pap you feed yourself is for weaklings! I took the power of the Hollow and turned it for my own use, to serve my goal."

Jushiro frowned. "I still cannot believe that you adhere to that flawed thinking! I remember very clearly that conversation we'd had over two hundred years ago, when you were getting shopped around by the captains. They all saw your promise, your talent."

"As did you? Is that why you never asked me to become your vice-captain? Or was it because of that very conversation? I can't understand how you could try to set me up like that? It was as though you wanted me to not stack up in your eyes! If I didn't agree with you, then, what? Just let Hirako sweep me up? I didn't really want to be his vice-captain, I wanted to be _yours! _I thought you were an intelligent, yet trusting person, too busy with his social contacts and his illness to get in my way. But no, you passed me up, and Hirako Shinji asked me instead." Sosuke laughed bitterly. "He as well was too intelligent to really trust me. The night I gave him the Hollowfication formula, I taunted him that it was his mistrust of me that had landed him into such a predicament. If he had only just watched me more, instead of keeping me just out of reach, he would have gotten to know me better."

"I have this nearly uncontrollable urge to spit in your face! How could Shinji have ever gotten to know you better when you never showed your true self to anyone? And how could you still believe that you can grasp the power you need from the world rather than drawing on it from within if you have acheived bankai? Anyone who has ever acheived the level of bankai knows that it is drawn from the very depths of your own soul, of your own powers..." Jushiro gasped as he realized something very shattering. "But, that's just it...You showed the Soul Socitey a fake shikai in order to hide your true powers. Who's to say you didn't show those captains a_ fake _bankai during your test?"

Sosuke had had enough of Jushiro questioning his powers. He dove forward, with his destroyed arm nearly halfway rebuilt. And in sweep, he sent Jushiro flying into a hard stone wall. "Hmph! touched a nerve, did I? What need does a 'perfect being' like you have for a bankai anyway! You're supposed to be too great to be a captain of the Court Guard, and besides, no Hollow has a bankai, does he? How dare you trick my friend and my sensei by faking such a thing during your Captain's Test?"

"Shut Up!" Sosuke screeched. "You have yet to show me your great bankai, eh, Ukitake! You'll die, right here and right now, if you don't use your precious bankai, I promise you!"

Jushiro struggled to stand. _This is not a battle for my life. It is a battle for the pride of every person this monster has ever harmed with his evil. Kaien-dono, forgive me for taking so long, but I will avenge you and your dear wife, and I will avenge Kuchiki Rukia, who you left your heart with..._

_Even if I take my last breath while doing so..._

_My last breath..._

_My breath..._

_Oh, no!_

Jushiro's lungs erupted with blood. He fell to his hands and knees, as the crimson of his own life force splattered onto the stone tiles of Las Noches. He could hear Sosuke's filtered sneering laughter over him. Sogyo no Katawari had reverted back to their single blade form. He knew that he was about to die.

_That's alright, I don't fear death. I've lived on the precipice so long that it was inevitable that I plunge over at some point._

_Shunsui, my friend, I'm so sorry._

_Lisa..._

Unbelievably, Jushiro saw Shunsui just then, flying overhead, descending on Sosuke's Hollowfied form, with his pink haori flared behind him and his hat somehow staying on his head in spite of gravity. Koten Kyokotsu was out in full force, and Shunsui had a determined look on his normally kind and fun-loving face.

Sosuke growled as though he knew that Shunsui was approaching. Jushiro could not scream, there hadn't been enough time. Sosuke swept upward with Kyoka Suigetsu, and cleanly swept Shunsui's head off his neck with one stroke. Jushiro grabbed Sogyo no Katawari, but Sosuke seemed to retreat very suddenly after that.

Which left Jushiro there, alone, with his dead friend, at the gates of Hell.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Ten minutes ago..._

Shunsui stood at the very first step of the front gates of Las Noches. Shinji and Ichigo caught up a few seconds later.

"Kurosaki, you'd better close your eyes or something. There's something at the top of that tower that you had better not be able to see..." Shunsui said very quietly, with the slightest quiver in his voice.

A second or two later, they sensed Gin's approach. "See? I told you that he never had a chance against Aizen's powers!" he called out to them.

Ichigo scanned the towers, then turned to Shinji. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked with a bit of dread.

"Shinji, take Kurosaki and get him out of here."

"Shunsui-"

"NOW!"

"Don't worry, Kurosaki. We've got a nice hot seat all ready for you!" Gin laughed.

"Don't count on it, Ichimaru! I wasn't told to avoid you!" Ichigo snarled, thinking of what Rukia had told him, about how Ichimaru had taunted her right before she was led onto Sokyoku Hill for her execution. Zangetsu seemed to seethe right along with Ichigo as he unbound his zanpakuto.

"That's fine! why don't we just leave all of those old timers to their fate," Gin sneered. "But you won't be able to defeat me, even with your power. It's too raw, too unrefined. Those weaklings put their faith into someone who doesn't even know how to seal his zanpakuto! It's like walking around with your dick hanging out your pants!"

"What? Why you son of a bitch!" Ichigo gasped in outrage. Then, he leaped forward to attack.

"Help him Shinji! I'll deal with Aizen myself if I have to..." Shunsui ordered him.

"Aizen is mine, _mine!" _Shinji protested.

_"Take care of his vice-captain, Shinji! _That's your duty now!"

_"How dare you order me around?" _Shinji yelled.

Shunsui made a half turn toward Shinji, and immediately, the former captain of Squad Five backed down. Ichigo felt a shiver down his back. It wasn't coming from Ichimaru Gin, nor was it coming from Shinji. It was coming from Jushiro's best friend.

Gin broke the silence. "Very well, I'll take the both of you on! _Shoot to kill, Shinso!"_

Shunsui didn't look back. He knew that Shinji would take care that Ichigo not get in over his head with that little Ichimaru Gin. Now, he could concentrate on who was left. He looked up at the top turret of one of the outer towers. There, Shunsui could see Jushiro's head, tiny and faint on top of a thin pike. He could even see his friend's white hair blowing in the warm wind, the same wind that stirred his own deep earth strands. _Thanks to Ichimaru's interference, I couldn't find out for certain if Kurosaki had seen Jushiro up there or not._

He finally spoke. "You know, if that is real, I will kill you. If that's not real, then I will still kill you for even putting the illusion forth. How you must hate us all so..." Shunsui called out. In response, a creature wearing Aizen Sosuke's clothing and a Hollow mask stepped forward. His filtered laughter began to echo down the stairs. Shunsui walked up, one step at a time, not even pausing as the laughter grew louder and harder.

"Come up here so you can be with your dear beloved friend, Kyoraku! I set him out just for you."

"He's not real. This isn't the first time you've used your shikai on me, so I'm sure there's something you're doing to me," Shunsui said, secretly praying that he was right.

"When I am in this form, my shikai, I confess, is not stable. There's no way I could use it to this effect that you are crediting me," Sosuke admitted.

"Just another lie," Shunsui sighed, then continued up the stairs.

He could hear the mad laughter of the Hollowfied Sosuke. "Fine! If you won't believe that your friend is really dead, then maybe he'll believe that you're dead! How do you like that plan?"

Shunsui said nothing, simply leaped way up. He gasped. The illusion was completely gone. "Thank goodness! I knew you wouldn't fall to him so fast, Ju-kun! Still, why did he lure me up here?" Shunsui frowned and looked back down. _Oh, no! There's Aizen, back down there! He tricked me into coming up here so he could keep me and Jushiro separated long enough to try and finish him off! Did I just hear him cough? Jushiro! _Shunsui jumped back down...

_Ten minutes after that..._

Ichigo leaped forward, returning to the front gates again. On the slate tiles, he could see a captain's haori, sprawled in a swirl, and the person wearing it seemed as though he was face down.

"Shit! Am I too late?" Ichigo gasped. He landed, and sure enough, the person he'd seen was Ukitake. But he wasn't unconscious... Instead, it was the weirdest thing that Ichigo had probably ever seen. "Hey? Jushiro? You alright?" The captain didn't answer him. He was talking in a low voice while holding...air in his hands. A strangled, soft cry of sheer misery came from the captain's mouth. Ichigo's eyes went wide as Jushiro seemed to cradle this...air in his hands and press it to his ghostly pale face.

"It wasn't supposed to be you, you weren't supposed to be the first one of us to go... I'm so sorry, Shunsui..." Ichigo listened in growing horror as Jushiro kept talking. He was acting just like the air in his hands was Kyoraku's head! "I will avenge you. And then, I promise you, I will join you, Shunsui. I will not stay behind without you here, I promise..." Ichigo thougth briefly of his own friendship with Chad. He thought it ran fairly deep, but how young and stupid he suddenly felt. _Would I commit suicide in order to rejoin Chad? Would Chad have expected it of me? Hardly. I've got Chad's back, and Chad's got my back, but that doesn't even scratch the surface of this friendship between these two old captains. I've never known such a friendship could really exist. They're more like twin brothers now. _Ichigo's blood began to boil as he realized what was going on. _Of course, that bastard Aizen is using his shikai on Jushiro to make him think his friend is dead. You know he'll probably kill himself, that's why you did it, you coward! I have to stop you, but how?_

He stepped forward, and dared to approach Jushiro. At first, the battered captain didn't even notice anyone was there at all. Blood stained his middle, where he'd been first injured. The captain's white hair was tangled and tinged with blood as well. His zanpakuto was cast aside, it's blade covered with blood, which made Ichigo rather proud suddenly. _He must've cut Aizen up pretty good to get all that blood on his blade! _"Hey, Taicho!" Ichigo finally said. "Dammit, Jushiro, you've got to be able to hear me! You're stronger than this, I know you are! Fight it!"

Ukitake Jushiro's hazel eyes finally seemed to register some sort of recognition. The captain reached out with one hand, and mumbled "K...Kaien?" Ichigo winced._ Damn it, you better not have gone all crazy on me! _"Kaien, is that you? Kaien, I can sense you. I can't see you, but I can sense your _reiatsu! _Kaien-dono?" Ichigo leaned forward, and Jushiro's hand was able to grip Ichigo's forearm. "Kaien! He's got me in his Kyoka Suigetsu, I think!"

"Yes! You're right, he does!" Ichigo affirmed at last, deciding to ignore the fact that Jushiro thought he was his dead vice-captain.

"Because Shunsui had thrown down his pink haori before the battle with Starrk even started. And Aizen...he made it seem like Shunsui still had it on!" Jushiro muttered.

_Great, he's not as crazy as I thought after all! _"Yes, yes, that's right, Taicho!"

"Kaien, please, help me, I can't see. Please lead me out of here!" Jushrio begged, then, he coughed very hard. Ichigo gulped; the only time he'd heard such a bad cough before was from someone that had gotten pnuemonia and had gome to the Kurosaki's Clinic to get some medicine. But Jushiro had tuberculosis, and according to all the stuff he knew of the disease, he could pass out from lack of oxygen if he can't get his lungs cleared out fast enough.

"Okay, come on, here we go," Ichigo said, gathering Jushiro up so he could prop him up under the shoulder. "Let's go this way. Shinji's still busy fighting with Ichimaru, and I don't want to get you all mixed up in that. Where's Aizen?"

"He...he left right after he chopped Shunsui's head off," Jushiro answered breathlessly.

"What a douchebag, uh, sorry, Taicho!" Ichigo winced. "But I bet they're actually both fighting somewhere now. But even I can't see where they are, Taicho!"

"Then wait, stop right here," Jushiro growled. "How typical, as soon as I sealed my zanpakuto, that coward went and used his Kyoka Suigetsu on me! Well, we will have no more of that! _Waves, now rise and become my shield! Lightning, strike now and become my blade!" _Ichigo had to step back and he gulped when Jushiro's _reiatsu_ swirled around them. Immediately, one of the odd shaped two pronged swords of Jushiro's zanpakuto began to glow. To Ichigo, it almost seemed as though the air was clearing a little bit.

"Taicho? What's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm absorbing the attack with my zanpakuto. Just as I thought! That fake dead body disappeared! He caught me at a weak moment," Jushiro muttered. Ichigo could see the strain of the past two days showing quite clearly on Jushiro's face. The captain sighed. "Unless I can find Aizen right away, I'll have to carry this around with me, and that's not going to be easy..." Jushiro sighed. Ichigo could see that Jushiro was dismayed at this situation. His blade was still glowing, so it was obviously still absorbing.

"So, that's what your shikai does? That'll be handy, won't it?" Ichigo commented.

"Ichigo-kun? Did I just start calling you 'Kaien' before?" Jushiro asked meekly.

"Uh, don't worry about it..." Ichigo winced.

"Ugh! I'm sorry. What are you even doing here anyway?" Jushiro asked him

"Shunsui and Shinji came here with me to get you out of here," Ichigo explained. "I wasn't supposed to get into too many fights. Well, okay, I really wasn't supposed to get into any fights, but nobody else was allowed to come from Soul Society, so that ruled out any of the other captains or Renji or Rukia, and none of my other friends were in good enough shape to guide Shunsui. So...since I'm not part of Soul Society, I fell through the cracks."

"Fell through the cracks, eh? I see. Well, it seems as though I might as well do this now, since I'm still trying to 'clear the air' here. I might not be able to later." Jushiro eyed Ichigo, then asked quickly, "Did you by chance bring your badge with you?"

"Yes! Hey, something's up with this thing, isn't there? Shunsui and Shinji were acting all mysterious about it..." Ichigo demanded as he took the badge from his pocket.

"May I see it please? Thank you," Jushiro said as Ichigo handed him the badge. "So, you don't really know what this is, do you?"

"Yeah, it's a badge that will let me still be a Shinigami even though I'm a human!" Ichigo answered.

Jushiro looked a bit shocked. "There's no time at present to explain everything to you, but Ichigo, that badge was to show everyone that you _are_ a part of the Gotei 13, you _are_ a Shinigami! But now..." he trailed off as he traced a few lines that were etched onto the old badge, and Ichigo gave a start when he saw the design change before his eyes. "It's time you knew what this badge really is."

Jushiro held the badge up to Ichigo. It was just like... _"A Vice-Captain's badge? _Just like...Renji's and Kira's and Hisagi's?"

"Well, not exactly like theirs. After all, they are all from different squads. Each Vice-Captain's badge has the flower symbol and the number of their squad on it. Kira's would be the marigold of Squad Three, and Renji's would have the camellia of Squad Six. and of course, Hisgai's has the buttercup of Squad Nine. This badge has the summer snowflake, a symbol of hope. You see the number under it?" Jushiro asked Ichigo.

Ichigo's hand moved toward the badge slowly, as if it was a dream. _It says Squad Thirteen! That badge was really the Vice-Captain's badge of Squad Thirteen? This is so cool! I'll be part of Rukia's squad! I'll be a real Shinigami! Nobody will ever laugh out of me again!_

And then..."Whew! What's that smell?" Ichigo and Jushiro both grit theit teeth as they heard Shinji sniffing the foggy air. "Smells like...something _old!" _As he approached, Shinji sniffled again, then exclaim, "Oh, it's_ you!"_

"Shinji, you dumb shit! I was just experiencing an Epic Moment in my life, and you just parade in here, making stupid jokes! Do you have any idea what was just going on here? My captain was just hypnotised into thinking that Aizen had managed to cut Shunsui's head off! Try making jokes some other time!"

"What Epic Moment are you talking about? Oh!" Shinji drawled as he laid eyes on Ichigo's newly transformed Vice-Captain's badge still in Jushiro's hand. "Tryin' to _badge_ Ichigo, huh? Well, it's not happening!"

"Oddly enough, Hirako-kun, I think it already has happened. Right, Ichigo?"

"Yeah, Shinji, I've actually had that badge for _months!" _Ichigo reminded him.

"You can't have him, Ju-Ju. You're Daddy-jii's Little Girl, we've always known it, but you can't have him this time! He's a Visored, Jushiro! Only another Visored can be his captain!" Shinji raged.

"Hmmm..." Jushiro got very thoughtful suddenly. Then he said, "I have to catch up to Aizen and Shunsui! And what you said just gave me an idea, too." Jushiro suddenly got a really evil look on his face as he swung one of the two blades from the red rope in his hand. "How would you two like to see Aizen shit a brick?"

"Alright, you got my attention, Ju-Ju. What's your plan?" Shinji grinned back.

"Well, it's actually you two that need to do the talking. I need a one-minute crash course in Visoreds..." Jushiro drawled, with his hazel eyes resting on his glowing zanpakuto.

Shunsui was now fully immersed the the game of choice from his zanpakuto. Katen Kyokotsu had chosen to play; she had to make a rule that Sosuke couldn't use his zanpakuto except to hide himself.

Yes, that's right. They were playing Hide and Seek.

He suddenly felt a strange sort of tugging on Katen Kyokotsu's reiatsu. He brightened considerably. That "tugging" was Sogyo no Katawari! Ha Ha! _Talk about a Game Changer! _Shunsui smiled and called out, "You won't be hiding much longer, Aizen!"

Sosuke emerged from the air, it seemed. "Good, this rule of yours was getting onerous!"

"It wasn't _my_ rule, it was _hers! _Yare, yare! Playing with other people's rules does get bothersome, doesn't it?" Shunsui asked crossly. "Especially for someone like you who thinks he makes all...the...rules..._What the hell is that?"_

Sosuke gaped at the sight in the sky above them. They both heard a filtered shriek, then saw three masked Hollowfied shinigami, all of them with released zanpakuto. One was very definitely Shinji's Sakanade, and the second was Ichigo's Zangetsu. But the third one, that was truly the most shocking. For it was Jushiro's Sogyo no Katawari. The Hollowfied captain had deep black hair, and a mask of alabaster with red lines across the cheeks. He took one of the twin blades and started swirling it very very quickly, then shot off a_ cero!_

_"What the fuck is this?" _Soskue screamed as the _cero_ careened right into the spot where he'd been standing a second earlier.

_"Look what you've done to me, you son of a bitch!" _Jushiro raged in anguish and sheer hate.

"I never...I never did that to you!" Sosuke stammered in utter disbelief. Shunsui made a dive for him.

_"No, Shunsui! You leave that piece of shit to ME! How dare you Hollowfy me? Now I will be cast out of Soul Society, all because of YOU! All those years I've served will mean nothing! All they'll see is how you MUTILATED me! But before I go I will make sure you DIE!" _Jushiro backhanded Sosuke, and he went flying into the wall of Las Noches, leaving a crater there. _"You foolish bastard! You made one very big mistake, making me think you killed my friend, making my Hollowfication accelerate by angering me!"_

"But I didn't do it!" Sosuke choked.

_"Do you know what happens to someone that gets Hollowfied when he is as old as I am? His power is increased twenty times what it had been before! You must realize what that means..." _Sosuke's sepia eyes nearly fell from his head when he saw Jushiro up close, so close that he could see the seething glow of green of his irises and the black of his sclera, just like every other Hollowfied Shinigami had. One hand glowed. _"Now, I can do what the Sokyoku had been able to do!"_

Sosuke reacted with the quickest of reflexes, impaling Jushiro in the chest with Kyoka Suigetsu. Jushiro looked down and laughed. _"Really?" _he sneered. Then, he took Kyoka's blade into his bare hand and snapped it in half! He backed away, carelessly pulling the blade out, and Sosuke watched as the wound sealed itself shut.

"Oh my god," Sosuke stammered mindlessly.

_"That's funny, I thought you were God," _Jushiro pointed out.

Sosuke leaped away, then yelled "Hado #90: _Kurohitsugi!" _Jushiro found the Black Coffin forming around himself.

"Taicho!" Ichigo screamed, but Shinji grabbed his shoulder before he could go any further.

"Better cover your ears, Ichigo!" Shinji warned. Sure enough, Jushiro's Sogyo no Katawari peeked out of the blackness, cutting a hole through it. A very loud bang ensued, the byproduct of a botched_ kido_ spell.

Jushiro's Hollowfied laughter filled the air. _"Now it's my turn! Hado #90: Kurohitsugi!" _Now, Sosuke found himself inside the Black Coffin, but he had no way out. He grit his teeth, the dozens of power spears shot through him, and soon, the world was light again. _"That is how you do the Black Coffin spell without an incantation! Something only an old fart like me would know how to do!" _Jushiro drawled.

"D..duly noted," Sosuke answered weakly, even though his wounds were healing fairly quickly anyway. Shinji, Ichigo, and Shunsui all plowed forward, seeing their opportunity!

And then, something unimaginable happened. Beams of light shone down, catching each and every Shinigami in their own beam.

"Negación? Inside Hueco Mundo? How can this be?" Sosuke asked in utter confusion.

"It's simple. I'm casting every Shinigami out of Hueco Mundo, and I'm using negación to do it."

_"Grimmjow?" _Ichigo growled, taking his mask off.

"Uh-uh! That's _King_ Grimmjow to you, Kurosaki!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ichigo broke the momentary stunned silence. _"King Grimmjow?"_

Grimmjow gave Ichigo his favorite nasty grin as he strode toward him. "Yeah, that's right, Kurosaki. Ol' Barragan kicked the bucket, so the throne's empty, right? Who's going to take his place? Starrk? He'd rather gouge his eye out than take over here! Yammy? Please! Harribel is dead too, isn't she? My only real opposition might have been Nnoitra, who is also dead, or Ulquiorra, who's most likely never going to show his face in Hueco Mundo again. So the buck stops with me and my new fracción, Tesla!"

"Grimmjow, I don't recall giving you permission to use negación, nor do I recall promoting you to any new ranking," Sosuke finally spoke up, shaking a bit as he gazed upon his broken Kyoka Suigetsu just outside negación, just beyond his reach.

Grimmjow held a hand up to his ear, as though straining to hear something. "Hm? Are you by chance complaining, Aizen? The way I see it, I saved your ass just now! I figure I owe you just that much, for helping me and my companions become Arrancar in the first place, for giving us that boost in power we'd been striving for all that time we were together. But Aizen, once you leave Hueco Mundo, my debt to you, I consider it paid in full," Grimmjow told him. Then the turned his attention to everyone else in the immediate area. "Now listen, I'm banishing all of you from Hueco Mundo."

"To the Living World?" Shunsui asked.

"Yep! No more Shinigami, or people who used to be Shinigami and now wear Hollow masks, are allowed in Hueco Mundo anymore. That's my new rule."

"And a very wise one, Grimmjow-heika. Please turn all of us, and Ichimaru and Tosen too, out of here and back to the Living World, and we will bother you no further," Shunsui said.

"Tosen? Ha! Guess you didn't have a chance to tell your pals here what you did, eh, Ukitake? Ichimaru, he's over there," Grimmjow pointed to a yellow light beam in the distant black desert. "But Tosen, I can't give you. See, Ukitake already did him in. He's deader than the justice he kept claiming he knew all about."

_"Damn you, Jushiro!" _Shinji raged. "You killed him! You had not right to kill him! It was supposed to be one of the Masked Army, preferably me!"

_"You taste the blood in your mouth, but you cannot bite the flesh," _Sosuke taunted Shinji, using an old Hollow expression. "Do we still haunt your dreams that much, Hirako? Did the thought of destroying us as revenge for what we did to you keep The Masked Army going through the long years?"

"Shut up! What were the thoughts that kept you going all these years? The sensation of the Hogyoku, what it would feel like lodged in your chest? Or the idea of seeing the world through the eyes of a Hollow mask attached to your face? Or maybe it was all the things you had to do in order to gain their power!" Jushiro seethed.

"What are you so upset about? I'm in here while my zanpakuto is broken!" Sosuke shot back.

"After all the crimes you committed, Aizen, the least thing you should be concerned with is your zanpakuto!" Jushiro spat.

"What about Inoue?" Ichigo demanded.

"Don't worry about her anymore, Kurosaki. Ukitake saw to it that she's safe and sound in the Living World, at least, as long as this guy Yamamoto is alright," Grimmjow told him.

Ichigo couldn't hide the shock on his face. "Y...you sent her out? To Jii-san?" he stammered.

"Ulquiorra took her there?" Jushiro confirmed.

"Yep," Grimmjow reported.

"A pointless gesture! Inoue Orihime is dead, just as dead as Kurosaki Ichigo is! Ukitake, you were too late with your intervention! Grimmjow's lingering feelings for her are useless, aside from the way you used them to manipulate him into letting her go!" Sosuke raged.

"I promise you, you were never manipulated! And neither was Ulquiorra! All I did was point you both to the path. You were the ones who decided to walk down that path!" Jushiro told Grimmjow.

Tesla stepped forward. "All you did Ukitake-san, from that chair, was paved that path for us! We all saw what was happening when Aizen-sama came back from the battle. We saw he didn't need us anymore, not really. We all could tell it was a matter of time. You told us about the path, and then you shone a light on it so we could see it."

"What did you say to Ulquiorra to convince him to take Orihime out of Hueco Mundo? He was so hell-bent on keeping her here for Aizen!" Ichigo asked Jushiro.

"He appealed to Ulquiorra's nihilistic nature in a way that simple mindless violence could never do. So, that's what being a couple of thousand years old does for you, huh?" Grimmjow mused. "Of course, no offense, but you almost look your age now..."

"Oh, thanks very much, Grimmjow!" Jushiro sniffed.

"Well, I'm just saying, you look like hell! You need to go back to your Soul Society, get some rest, get cleaned up. And throw yourself a really big birthday party! Have an extra beer for me, okay?" Grimmjow suggested.

"When we are returned to the Living World, all our efforts will be spent on bringing Aizen and Ichimaru to justice. I won't be able to accomplish one final thing I needed to do here. But if you let me out of here, I can get it done and it won't take long..." Jushiro said really quickly. It reminded Shunsui of the same tone he'd use when trying to wheedle more time out of Yama-jii to finish a homework assignment...

"What are you trying to do, get killed right before you turn two thousand? I can picture the epitaph: 'Here lies the bones of Jushiro Ukitake, who only lived till he was 1999 because he was too dumb to wait seven hours before he got himself killed!' I'm not letting you run around here loose. Besides, you don't need to bother about that thing we just took care of. What do you think, I'm gonna just... " Grimmjow argued.

"No, NO! I'm not worried about that anymore. It's just that...well, I suppose this means that you want Aaroniero as part of your new Espada..." Jushiro sighed.

"Oh, I see now! I know your agenda, Ukitake! You know I don't give a rat's ass about Aaroniero, but still, you need to get out of here. Go home, Shinigami. You can go after Aaroniero later," Grimmjow reasoned.

"I appreciate your concern over my welfare, I really do, but he'll never leave Hueco Mundo willingly if he knows I'm after him, Grimmjow." The elder shinigami gave Grimmjow a very keen look. "So, I would appreciate it if you let me out of here, please?"

"Two words: Hell. No." Grimmjow stated, ticking the words off with his fingers.

"But you were there, when he interrogated me! You heard him, you saw what he looked like! I have to-"

"What do you have to do, Jushiro?" Shunsui asked sharply. "Didn't you do enough? Wasn't sneaking off here to do this thing you did, getting me all worried sick about you, wasn't that enough? Damn it don't you give me that look, you were coughing up blood about twenty minutes ago, don't you remember?"

Grimmjow walked over to Shunsui, who looked like he wanted to pound a hole right through the yellow light prison he was in. "You're his friend, aren't you? The one who already turned two thousand, huh?"

"Yes, I am," Shunsui acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"How long have you known Ukitake? Almost as long? He coughs up blood, like TB or something?" Grimmjow asked.

"Yes, so he's going to be very weak if he is running around here on his next agenda," Shunsui answered with a touch of frustration with his friend laced in his words.

Grimmjow blinked. "Him?_ Weak? _We talking about the same guy? Oh, I get it now! It's so simple, I can't believe you fell for it Aizen!"

"What do you mean?" Sosuke asked.

"I told you, literally thirty seconds before he killed Tosen-"

"I didn't actually kill Tosen, it was an accident!" Jushiro protested.

"...said Dorothy to the Wicked Witch of the West's Guards while holding the water bucket!" Grimmjow quipped. "Anyway, I warned you, he had an agenda, and even more important, I warned you that he wasn't afraid of you at all!" Grimmjow grew very serious suddenly, and gave every Shinigami and Visored a hard glare and pointed slowly at every one of them. "I bet, all of you, that since he left Soul Society to be here full time, every time you heard the name 'Aizen,' your hearts would hammer just a little bit more than before, or you'd get a sick feeling in your stomach, like you'd swallowed a bowl of acid. Or your head would sort of spin, you'd feel a little dizzy, thinking about his zanpakuto, and it's frightening power. Even Kurosaki wasn't supposedly here to fight Aizen, he was here to rescue Orihime allegedly, and all of you people went ape shit because you were so scared that Aizen-sama was going to off him before he got a chance to escape Hueco Mundo.

"But that wasn't the case with Ukitake. He knew everything you guys knew, in fact, he knew even more than you did, and yet, he still came here, unarmed except for his own powers and his own intellect, facing almost certain death if Aizen had God-forbid figured out his plan before he could get out of there. That chair, I felt it's power, just very briefly, by accident, I just brushed against it, and the agony was beyond belief. It makes getting smashed against a wall feel like a pinch on your ass, it makes getting burned by a hot burner on the stove like getting a mild sunburn. Ukitake put himself in that seat, to make sure that _you especially _would not end up there yourself!" Grimmjow explained, pointing straight at Shunsui.

"Hey, I get it, alright? You look at him, he's got white hair, he's skinny as a rail, he's even got a pretty face, so you figure _heck, this guy's a lightweight!_ Every other supposed badass I've ever known, they were always busy posturing and all that other bullshit, which I admit I'm guilty of too, so, not like I'm passing judgment or anything. But even as Aizen started acting like he'd grown a third ball since he got ahold of the Hogyoku, Ukitake laughed and snapped his zanapukto in half with his bare hand. Yeah, _that's_ a weak, skinny, sickly guy for you!" Grimmjow turned back to Jushiro. "Aww, what are you blushing in there?" he asked.

"I had no idea I'd made such an impression on you, that's all," Jushiro admitted.

"We're wasting time. Aaroniero's going to be on the move, he's been ever since you got out of the chair," Grimmjow said, then waved his hand. Jushiro's yellow light barrier disappeared.

"Grimmjow, thank you," Jushiro responded with a grateful smile.

"Jushiro! Don't go by yourself!" Shunsui yelled at him.

"I don't intend to," Jushiro assured him.

"Huh? You want me to let someone else out?" Grimmjow asked in an annoyed tone.

"My vice-captain," Jushiro said. Ichigo's eyes narrowed at Grimmjow as he approached.

"Fuck no!_ Not Kurosaki, come on!"_ Grimmjow whined.

"Look at him, Grimmjow! Do you not see it?" Jushiro demanded. "If I don't have Ichigo with me, then me going after Aaroniero will be useless. If you look at him, you will see why!"

Grimmjow looked at Ichigo with a scowl. After a few moments, he resentfully said, "Well, I guess I can see a resemblance..."

"You absolutely will not let that die, will you Ukitake? This obsession with Shiba! Aaroniero ate Metastacia, Ukitake! He's way more powerful than Metastacia could have been, and, I warn you, he has all of Metastacia's powers. Which means that Kurosaki will die, it is a certainty. You can relive that night all over again, and wring your hands and gnash your teeth over Kurosaki's death, too!" Sosuke sneered.

"Don't be so sure about that, Aizen. Ichigo has one big advantage that Kaien didn't have, and Metastacia was designed to digest Shinigami. I have a feeling Ichigo would give Metastacia a bad case of heartburn..." Jushiro quipped.

"That's Kurosaki's _strength._ But you are flat out ignoring his most glaring _weakness,_ and that is what will do him in," Sosuke warned him.

"No, he has me. He will not fall," Jushiro insisted. "Grimmjow, remember what he did for you. Please let me collect what is left of him now!"

"Alright, fine!" Grimmjow huffed. "This is only because you offed Tosen, even though I wasn't there to see it. And this is only because you kept Aizen's grimy paws off Orihime. And this is only because...if it wasn't for you and Kurosaki here, I wouldn't be King..." He waved his hand, and Ichigo was set free.

"Thanks to me? How?" Ichigo asked him.

"By fighting you, even though I lost, I got stronger," Grimmjow told him.

Ichigo nodded. "By fighting you, I got stronger too." Then, he went over to Jushiro.

"Here's the deal. You two have a half-hour. You aren't back here, I send him," Grimmjow announced, pointing at Shunsui. "I'm sure I can count on him to drag your asses back to me so I can open a _garganta_ and send you all back to the Living World."

"Agreed. Are you then going to stay here and keep them here too?" Jushiro asked.

"Yeah, I guess I have to hang around here for a bit longer. Now get moving!" Grimmjow ordered them.

"Then we haven't a moment to lose, Ichigo. Follow me," Jushiro instructed him. Ichigo was led to where Sosuke was held behind the golden light of negación. "You pathetic ass. You asked Grimmjow where he'd gotten the permission to use negación, and you asked him how he could have promoted himself? It's not because Barragan is dead. It's because of the Hogyoku! And that's what makes you so pathetic. You think you have control over the consciousness of the Hogyoku, but you do not. You are it's servant as much as you think it is yours!"

"Are you trying to say you know exactly how the Hogyoku works?" Sosuke asked with a smile.

"Of course I do." Jushiro reached his hand toward the golden light of Sosuke's barrier. It began to glow._ "What is your will?" _he asked in an eerie voice, then breathed deeply. Ichigo got a bit of a chill, as he recalled that a half hour ago, Jushiro had been hacking so badly he thought the poor guy would lose consciousness.

_"Do it, Jushiro," _Sosuke urged him. "You've been sick for so long...how can you not reach out for that restored health you so desperately long for? But to get to it, you need to free me. Grimmjow needs to let me out of here too!" Sosuke pointed out with a smile on his face and a hypnotic tone to his voice. He even opened up the upper half of his haori, revealing the Hogyoku lodged in the middle of his chest.

Everyone around them grew more shocked by the second. Jushiro's hand glided slowly ever closer to the negación barrier around Sosuke. "T..Taicho? What are you doing?" Ichigo gasped.


	15. Chapter 15

_I know, I know, I suck, I haven't updated since June! Bad me, bad! I decided to just keep going with my story the way it was rather than try to integrate too much more of the manga storyline into it. So please enjoy!_

Chapter 15

Jushiro smiled. "Imagine if I could just reach inside here myself, just like I did with Wonderweiss... Then Grimmjow wouldn't have to release you, would he?"

"Taicho, that thing, it's been turned evil..." Ichigo warned him.

"No it hasn't..." Jushiro told him. His hand was nearly touching the force field. "And, one should not assume the Hogyoku has turned evil just because the person carrying..._her..._has!"

"Jushiro? What are you saying, that the Hogyoku is _female?"_ Shunsui asked.

"Of course! As is Urahara's zanpakuto," Jushiro reminded him. Then, all the Shinigami seemed to nod their heads, as though some sort of question had been answered using _Soul Society Logic,_ which was probably the goofiest logic system _ever._ "And naturally, she really hates being carried around by such a _misogynist_ like Aizen!"

"Now, now, that's not a very nice thing to say. Since when did I demonstrate _that?"_ Sosuke asked almost playfully.

"He's right! You even told me you were going to kill Orihime if she didn't cooperate with you!" Grimmjow pointed out.

"And how about how you killed your female Arrancar? Struck her down, even though _she_ was the last of your Espada standing!" Shunsui growled.

"Not to mention what you did to Hinamori!" Jushiro reminded him.

"And what about _Rukia?"_ Ichigo chimed in. "You said that I had no reason to despise you as much as everyone else in Soul Society did, because you hadn't hurt anyone I cared about. You forgot about _Rukia?"_

"I have legitimate excuses for all of that, you know," Sosuke said smugly.

"I don't really want to hear them, Aizen! Just know this. She _will_ turn on you. Maybe not today. Maybe not even next week. But one day, you'll find yourself with a knife in your back. She will bring about the circumstances for your destruction. Knowing this, I leave her with you. After all, you no longer have your zanpakuto, and it wouldn't be _sporting_ of me to leave you with no defense, even if it is a temporary one, now would it?" Jushiro mused.

"Still so arrogant! My Kyoka Suigetsu will return to me, that is the way of all zanpakuto, unless I died, of course, but I'm not dead!" Sosuke said indignantly.

"Normally that would be the case..." Jushiro said, walking away from Sosuke and over to where the broken pieces of Kyoka Suigetsu lay on the sand. He drew Sogyo no Katawari, whispered, "I'm sorry," to his blade, then drove it down into Kyoka's hilt. Aizen Sosuke's dreaded zanpakuto slowly turned into dust and blew into the winds of Hueco Mundo.

Sosuke screamed. Everyone else gaped at what had just happened. Ichigo looked rather shaken as he asked, "Taicho? What did you just do?"

"It was really done before we were captured in the _negacion,_ Ichigo. It was done when I used the power I had absorbed earlier, remember?" Jushiro explained to his new vice-captain.

"Whose power had you absorbed? I don't understand," Sosuke protested.

"Why, it was yours! My zanapkuto, Sogyo no Katawari, can absorb any attack against me and send it back to my attacker. Didn't you notice it before?" Jushiro asked him. "I surely thought you understood Sogyo no Katawari's power, and that was why you set Wonderweiss after me in the first place!"

_"Of course! The cero!_ Wait a minute! Attacking me with my own _cero_ would never have caused my Kyoka Suigetsu to turn to dust!" Sosuke protested even more loudly.

"No, but being exposed to _your own shikai _can! Over the years, I found that when a Shinigami is exposed to their own Shikai, it can cause a very bad reaction. When I trained with my sensei all those years ago, I was taught how to attack _Hollows,_ my mission as a Shinigami was to purify them or send them back to Hueco Mundo. I was not meant to fight my fellow Shinigami, not supposed to fight one shikai with another, in other words, I was not supposed to cross zanpakuto with one of my own! It's a bad business, Aizen. You should _never_ have tried to attack _me_ with the Complete Hypnosis, and that is all there is to it. Now, you've been exposed to the Complete Hypnosis yourself, and your zanpakuto could not tolerate his own power being used against him," Jushiro told him coldly. Sosuke couldn't answer. But he sank to his knees, staring at the cracked open hilt lying on the sand. "Now, Ichigo, we've got a lot to do, and not much time to do it. The only way the hogyoku could be of any use to me right now was if it could materialize a pizza. Which she'd have no reason to do, of course!" Jushiro quipped as he walked away from Kyoka Suigetsu's sad remains.

Sosuke called out to him. _"How can you be so damned callous? Just walk away like that!"_

Ichigo saw something like lightning flash through Jushiro's eyes. He turned around and glared at Sosuke grovelling on the sandy ground. _"You? Speaking to me about being callous?_ I'd tell you to go rot in Hell, but it seems you're even getting kicked out of here soon. Just do not speak to me again, Aizen_-sama,"_ he warned the fallen captain of Squad Five.

"What about Ichimaru?" Shinji called to Jushiro.

"Well, I'll try to leave you something, Shinji-kun," Jushiro called back.

"Oh, thanks a bunch, Ju-Ju!" Shinji raged.

"Anytime," Jushiro responded carelessly. He nodded to Grimmjow, who seemed a bit slack-jawed by all this. "Now, let's see. We've got to find Aaroniero as soon as possible. Grimmjow, do you have any ideas about where he might be?"

"Well, he used to broadcast what was going on with him, kind of like a psychic stream. It's one of his abilities. But under the circumstances, he's most likely not going to be broacasting anything," Grimmjow told him.

"Understandable. Alright, then," Jushiro said, then knelt down on the sand, and began drawing a circle. _"Heart of the south,"_ he began to recite, making a cross in the circle. _"Eye of the north,"_ he continued, writing a symbol in each quadrant. _"Finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain! Bakudo #58, Kakushitsuijaku!"_ Ichigo glared at the circle which glowed with power between Jushiro's hands resting on the sand. He suddenly started dictating coordinates to Ichigo. "Do you know where that is?" Jushiro asked him.

"I bet that's all the way on the other side of Las Noches," Ichigo warned him.

"It sure is. That's nowhere near the five towers where you were being held, Ukitake! It's the south end," Grimmjow added. "The Front Gates here are the North end. Sorry, but you're shit out of luck."

"Not a problem," Jushiro announced. "Ichigo, we'll need a little more room." He led Ichigo past Grimmjow, then turned to the Arrancar and grinned. "Half hour, right?"

"You'll never make it!" Grimmjow predicted.

"Jushiro! You'll exhaust yourself if you do that!" Shunsui called to him, visibly upset through the _negacion._

"Shunsui, I'm very very sorry that I've caused you all this worry. I never thought I'd have this opportunity, but I do, and I have to make the most of it!" Jushiro sighed.

"Jushiro, even if you were in the best shape of your life, _which your'e not,_ what you're looking to do is still probably a bad idea! You don't even know for sure-" Shunsui argued.

"Then I shall certainly find out one way or the other today, won't I?" Jushiro cut him off. "Now, Ichigo, let's go!" Jushiro loosed a soul ribbon, and it swirled around the two of them. With a crack, they disappeared.

Grimmjow eyed Shunsui, who looked as furious as he'd ever seen someone. "Hey," he called to Shunsui, "stop worrying so much! He's only got twenty five minutes left. By the time a half hour passes, he probably won't be anywhere near Aaroniero, I let you out, and you can do that funky trick too, right? You heard where he's going. Let him get it out of his system, whatever it is," he advised Shunsui.

At length, Shunsui sighed. "Fine. I'm sure he won't be back here in time, and I'll just go after him and drag him back here. No problem. I just hope he doesn't collapse before I get to him..."

* * *

Yadomaru Lisa was on a mission. She scanned the wreckage of the Fake Karakura Town, with her zanpakuto, Haguro Tonbo, sealed but restored. This battle that had just passed had taken her so close! But fate snatched him away from her yet again. And she was determined not to let it continue...

_Where is she? I can sense her, I know she's around here somewhere!_ Lisa stepped over some remnants of a smashed building, slowly trying to pick her way, in order to find the one she was seeking. Because she had a plan. And it involved getting to Hueco Mundo.

Rather abruptly, Lisa found the spot she was looking for. "There you are!" She pulled one rock, then another. With each heave, she grit her teeth and shoved it aside, but soon she was smiling as she found Tia Harribel at last.

The Arrancar's peridot eyes shut tightly as the sun hit them. "Agh!" she complained when Lisa removed the stone blocking her face. Lisa could see the wounds from Aizen's attack oozing. _No, I can't afford to start feeling sorry for this Arrancar, or I'll never get to him!_

"Alright, I've got you out of here. Now I need your help!" Lisa announced.

"I'm not helping _you!"_ Tia decided.

"Listen, you skank, I don't have time for you lamenting over how Aizen screwed you over! You don't owe him any more loyalty!" Lisa growled.

"Of course I don't! But I'm dying! I can't help you, even if I wanted to, which I really don't! All my sacrifice! All for nothing!" Tia cried.

Lisa wanted to throw something at her, but she decided that even she couldn't be that mean to this half-dead Arrancar after all, no matter how frustrated she was getting. She _could_ try to heal her with _kido,_ but even if she did, that was no guarantee that she'd help her get to Hueco Mundo.

_"Lisa! Lisa-san!"_ she heard someone call out. Gripping Haguro Tonbo, Lisa stood up and looked for whoever was calling her. A young Shinigami lady with glasses and deep black hair clipped back was waving at her from the distance.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Lisa called back, a bit peevishly.

"It's me, Lisa-san! Ise Nanao!" Lisa clapped her hand over her mouth with shock. She didn't think much could shock her anymore. But seeing Nanao, who had been a little girl back when she'd known her in the Seireitei over a hundred years ago, it made her realize _just how much time had passed._ "Lisa-san! He's _there!_ In _Hueco Mundo!"_

"I know, I know!" Lisa cried.

"They won't let me go after him! Sotaicho won't open a _garganta_ so I can go to him!" Nanao wept. Lisa leaped down onto the street and rushed to her former charge from so many years ago.

"I know, I'm trying to get this one here to open it up for me," Lisa told her, leading Nanao back to Tia.

"Oh! A...an Arrancar?" Nanao shivered slightly.

"Sheesh! She's half dead, don't worry about it! What's the matter, Kyoraku's over-protecting you too... Why that dirty old bastard! He made _you_ his vice-captain!" Lisa growled.

Nanao flushed. "Uh, well, I think you knew that already...Someone from your group was hacking into Squad Five's computers for years, weren't they? So you know just about everything that went on. Well anything of any importance anyway..."

_Hmph, looks like Shinji's not such a hot shot after all!_ "Well we had the computers down when we made the move to Karakura Town. And this isn't about me! This is about a two thousand year old _scumbag_ who's practically raping jailbait!" Lisa ranted.

_"No no no! He and I, we never did anything!_ Don't talk about my Taicho like that! He's a lazy, no-account, womanizing alcoholic and can be a bit of an idiot at times, but he has a goodness in him that I can't beleive you don't remember!" Nanao cried.

"Don't fall for him! You should listen to your mask-wearing friend, men are NO GOOD!" Tia called out with as much strength as she could.

"Come with me, Nanao." Lisa took Nanao's hand and led her to Tia. "Harribel-san, please don't dump either my former captain, that old scumbag Kyoraku, or his friend, a truly noble man named Ukitake Jushiro, into the same bucket you'd dump Aizen. You speak of sacrifice, I noticed. I know you would change your mind about them once you heard what I have to tell you about Jushiro..."

* * *

Ichigo's feet landed on gray marble slats. Jushiro appeared beside him with a _crack._ "First I got an Invisibility Cloak, then I got to..._Apperate!_ Where's my wand?" Ichigo joked.

"Huh?" Jushiro asked, truly bewildered.

"Um, you know, Harry Potter?" Ichigo explained.

Jushiro furrowed his dark brows, then he understood. "Oh, _him!_ I've heard an awful lot about _Harry Potter._ You'll have to explain some more about those books sometime soon, Ichigo-kun. Right now though, we're looking for an Arrancar named Aaroniero." Jushiro reminded him.

"Listen, Uh, Rukia told me a little bit about what happened with Ganju's and Kukaku's older brother...but she wouldn't talk much about it. Even Byakuya won't talk about it," Ichigo said.

"Kuchiki blames herself, when all she really did was save him from a fate even worse than death!" Jushiro asserted. "It was thanks to her that his soul was spared from being here, in this placed, trapped within a Hollow serving Aizen!" Ichigo felt a chill. Jushiro's hazel eyes blazed right at _him!_ But Ichigo managed to tear his attention away from his captain, as he sensed something. He held his hand up, as though to warn Jushiro not to speak while he listened.

"Taicho! There's an Arrancar nearby! I don't recognize him, and I think I've met up with most of the surviving Arrancar already," Ichigo warned. He drew out Zangetsu, then sort of hesitated. Suddenly, he felt like an idiot, as Gin's words swam back into his mind... _"Those weaklings put their faith into someone who don't even know how ta seal his zanpakuto! It's like walkin' around with yer dick hangin' outa yer pants!"_

"What's wrong, Ichigo-kun?"

"I...yeah," Ichigo stammered. "Uh, this seems like a bad time to ask this, but-"

_"YOU!" _Jushiro suddenly shouted. Ichigo snapped out of his self-pity session and looked in the direction Jushiro had just been pointing in, before he took off with shunpo. It took Ichigo a second to process what had happened, but it became evident that Jushiro had found his Arrancar adversary.

In the next room, Jushiro confronted Aaroniero. "Face me you _coward!" _he seethed.

"You were coughing before, weren't you?" Aaroniero accused him. "Your strength is quickly fading. What? What have you brought me? _A treat?"_

"Oh, no you don't!" Jushiro yelled. He twisted his fingers up and put his hands together in front of him. "Bakudo #99, _Kin!" _When Ichigo got into the room, all he could see was spirit fabric wrapping around Aaroniero and tossing him face down to the floor. He continued watching as stone slabs drove themselves into the floor, binding the fabric to the marble like pins.

His eyes were pretty wide when he finally reached Jushiro. "Um, I confess, I know next to nothing about _kido._ About the only things I know are, it's like magic, and the higher the number, the more power the spell had. That was like, a level _99_ spell, right?" Jushiro slid to the floor himself, wearing a mask of uncharacteristic hatred. "Shunsui is gonna kick my ass in if I let you do something like that again!"

Jushiro sighed. "I've gone for forty years without a vice-captain, so naturally, Shunsui thinks he's got to run my life for me so I don't knock myself out. Ichigo, there are only two people now in Soul Society that you really have to listen to orders from, and neither of them are Shunsui or Kuchiki Byakuya. You only take orders from me or from Yamamoto-sotaicho, understand?"

"Understood, Taicho!" Ichigo said.

Aaroniero raised his head from the floor. "Taicho? You mean you haven't gotten a new vice-captain after _me?"_

_"What? What is this?" _Ichigo gasped._ "T...Taicho? What is that?" _Jushiro gaped helplessly as Ichigo pointed wildly at the face that Aaroniero had been torturing Jushiro with since he'd been brought back from death.

"What's _your _problem?" Aaroniero spat at Ichigo.

_Those eyes..._

_That hair..._

_That face!_

It was like Ichigo was looking into a karmic mirror-and seeing his own reflection in it!

* * *

_I promie I'll try to update a little sooner with the next chapter. Did Jushiro just make a huge mistake bringing Ichigo to Aaroniero?_


	16. Chapter 16

_Hello all! I've been sitting on this chapter for months, hoping I'd get up enough nerve to actually post it, which apparently I managed to do. Enjoy!_

Chapter 16

Ulquiorra, watchful as ever, stood by as Kisuke, Genryusai and Yoruichi quizzed Orihime. Her friend Rukia sat right next to her, for a show of support, no doubt. Ulquiorra had recalled both Yoruichi and Kisuke, back from the autumn, when he was first sent to look for Kurosaki. _That had been the first time I'd seen Orihime, as well..._ Orihime seemed to be rather comfortable with these people, he noticed.

"We had all figured Aizen would try to have you bring back Arrancar he'd lost!" Kisuke frowned slightly.

"Can you remember which ones you brought back, so we know who we might be facing in the future?" Genryusai asked.

Orihime immediately looked in Ulquiorra's direction. He didn't think he'd made an expression, but then, if he hadn't, then why was Orihime smiling? Rukia eyed Ulquiorra, and she shivered just a bit. This prompted Ulquiorra to speak. "There were only a couple of the Espada rank that she had brought back. I was one of them. Another was the Noveno Espada..."

"The ninth? I don't recall ever seeing him," Yoruichi remarked.

"You hadn't, but he had been killed when the Shinigami first infiltrated Hueco Mundo. He had never been to the Living World, so far as I had ever known, and he used to broadcast to everyone his whereabouts..."

Suddenly, everyone heard a gasp from Rukia. "The _ninth?_ You mean..._Aaroniero?"_

"Yes. _You_ were the one who encountered him, weren't you?" Ulquiorra deduced. Rukia's eyes were wide and frightened.

_"Has Ukitake-taicho seen him?"_ Rukia cried.

"I was not there when the actual meeting took place, but I know that he was most assuredly brought back from death specifically for the purpose of interrogating Ukitake. What is his importance? Other than this link between him and Ukitake, he wasn't much more use, from what I could tell."

"Rukia, what is it? I've never seen you look like this!" Orihime asked her friend.

Tears were streaming down Rukia's face now. "Oh no! And _Ichigo's _there!"

"I hardly think that Aaroniero is any match for Kurosaki, Miss," Ulquiorra sniffed. "Kurosaki had to call on powers that he didn't want to admit he possessed in order to defeat _me, _while I could crush a _Gillian_ like Aaroniero with one finger."

Rukia shook her head wildly. _"You don't understand! He looks just like..."_

* * *

"...Kaien-_dono,"_ Jushiro sighed with mounting despair.

"Bah! That fool? It was fun running around in his body, striking at the very people he cared about the most. And it was even more amusing when _you_ held back as long as you did!" Aaroniero cackled.

Ichigo gaped. _That can't possibly be what this Aaroniero really looks like..._ "Show us you true form! You're just using this face to take a cheap shot at my captain!" Ichigo raged. _"You showed this face to Rukia too, didn't you? You were the one she was battling, the one who made us all believe she was dead with your little lying trick!"_

"It wasn't a trick! I really _did_ think that little bitch was dead." Aaroniero glared at Ichigo with Kaien's turquoise eyes. "You have no idea how much she hurt me!"

"Oh, you poor dear! If you think _she_ hurt you, just think of what _I'm_ going to do to you, Asshole!" Ichigo bellowed.

_"Ichigo, NO!"_ Jushiro yelled as Ichigo drove Zangetsu down toward Aaroniero's prone body wrapped in the _Kin_ spell. Jushiro could only watch in horror as Kaien's face disappeared, and Metastacia's replaced it! Aizen's warning rang in his head... _Aaroniero ate Metastacia, Ukitake! He's way more powerful than Metastacia could have been, and, I warn you, he has all of Metastacia's powers. Which means that Kurosaki will die, it is a certainty. You can relive that night all over again, and wring your hands and gnash your teeth over Kurosaki's death, too!_

Ichigo's zanpakuto struck down, driving deep, but then..."Huh?" Ichigo's hand was suddenly empty. Metastacia writhed, screeched in agony, but Zangetsu dissolved anyway. Jushiro took his very last bit of strength and crawled forward, Sogyo no Katawari in hand.

He glanced to his side, seeing Jushiro crawling, and he grit his teeth. "No, Taicho! This one's mine, don't you knock yourself out anymore over this piece of crap!" Ichigo advised him. Jushiro glared up at Ichigo. "I can take care of him even without my zanpakuto."

"How, Ichigo? How will you do this?' Jushiro asked him.

Ichigo gave Jushiro one of those backwards glances, grinned, then said, "Just watch me!" He then put on his Vizard mask. His Hollow self filled his head with cackling glee. _I'm hungry! I haven't eaten for sooo looong!_ Ichigo groaned and tried to think of the last time he'd eaten. He looked by his feet. _Yes, there's the food!_ "No, you don't mean...?" Ichigo asked aloud. _Food! Eat it, or I will!_ Ichigo knelt down, reached for Metastacia's face. Metastacia made one last scream, then Ichigo peeled the face off Aaroniero.

"Ichigo! What's going on?" Jushiro asked.

"Eggs!" Ichigo gasped. "Look, it's _eggs!"_ Ichigo began to whack at Aaroniero's head tank, thunking it on the floor of Las Noches.

Jushiro shrunk back, but forced himself to watch the scene unfolding before him. _You will absolutely not let that die, will you Ukitake? This obsession with Shiba!_ Just more of Sosuke's words echoing in his mind, taunting him.

_What have I done to you, Ichigo? I'm so sorry!_

Ichigo broke the tank open. "Hey you know, my mom used to make hard-boiled eggs in a glass pot... I'm so damned _hungry!"_ Ichigo took an "egg" and began to crack it against the floor. The "egg" screamed as Ichigo slammed it, but finally, the "eggshell" cracked open, and Ichigo happily peeled it. "Aw, crap! It's not boiled enough! And it's kinda bloody! Oh well, who cares!" Jushiro watched Ichigo's Hollow mask's mouth open, and he poured the bloody mess into his mouth. He licked blood off his fingers. "Taicho, are you hungry? There's another one," Ichigo offered.

Jushiro held his hand up. "No, I...I can't eat that, Ichigo-kun. Thank you anyway." _Have I driven Ichigo mad?_

"I feel a _lot_ better now. I guess I'll have the other one. Why do the eggs scream so much? You know, if my dad knew I was eating raw eggs, he'd never let up on me!" Ichigo poured the second head's contents into his mouth. "I bet I'm going to get sick to my stomach, but I can't help it!" Ichigo belched a bit. "Excuse me!" He reached and pulled off the _Kin_ bindings off Aaroniero's carcass. Then, as though he was an expert butcher, Ichigo began pulling Aaroniero's body apart, looking for the best parts to eat. "We don't have time to cook this..." He plucked the heart out of the chest, then bit into it like a fruit. "Mmmm...juicy! Sheesh, this is a mess, isn't it? I guess you're not eating because someone with a weakened immune system shouldn't eat raw foods. Hey, Taicho, don't cry! We'll get back to the Living World soon, and then I can make you my sister's famous tuna-noodle casserole. It's really fast, I can even make it myself, although the last time I didn't boil the noodles first, so they were a little chewy!"

Jushiro thought he should say something. "Well, actually, I had some tuna recently. Orihime made it, it was a tuna fish and peanut butter sandwich," Jushiro revealed.

"Ugh! She can't cook at all, can she? What a combination!" Ichigo critiqued, then began eating entrails, pulling them out and ripping them in smaller pieces, then sucking them down like spaghetti. Once he finished, Ichigo pushed the carcass aside, then laid back, took a breath, and his mask began to crack off. Jushiro watched silently as Ichigo's face reappeared. "Earlier, Shinji did that same thing that Yoruichi did to me when I was on the bridge that day, remember that? That...thing with the hand in my gut.."

"The _Hoten?_ Is that what you mean?" Jushiro asked.

"Yeah, that's it! I don't know if it's enitrely worn off," Ichigo admitted.

"Ichigo, if you are conscious, then it has worn off," Jushiro assured him.

"Oh. I'm tired. We..came here to kill that Arrancar. Is he dead?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo, he's right there."

"Oh. Yeah, he's dead, alright. Good thing you...tied him up like that, huh? Can we rest here? I mean, Grimmjow will probably trap us in _negacion_ again and ship us back to the Living World. So, can't he do that just as easily from here as from there? I can't walk back, not in, like, what ten minutes? And you can't do that apperation trick again, can you? I have a headache."

"That's not surprising, Ichigo, you expended a huge amount of _reiatsu_ in Hueco Mundo," Jushiro explained.

Ichigo closed his eyes, for one second. Then, he abruptly opened them, and he grinned. "Okay, Taicho, let's go!" he announced.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Jushiro demanded as Ichigo picked him up and propped him under the arm.

"Are you kidding? You want Kyoraku coming over here and rescuing you? And then he could stick it in your face about how you overextended yourself _yet again?_ And then Jii-san'll lock you in his office for weeks doing paperwork while you 'recover,' and Kiyone and Sentaro will get upset? You want that?" Ichigo nearly growled,

Jushiro's jaw dropped, but then he managed to close it again. "N..no, I wouldn't want that," he answered, letting Ichigo prop him up through the doorway of the chamber they had been in. "Ichigo, what happened? You closed your eyes for a second, and then you opened them, and you're not tired anymore?"

"I'm exhausted! But you're even more exhausted than I am. I'm you're vice-captain, and it's my job to help you out! Don't forget I'm here, Taicho!" Ichigo warned him. "Besides, a lot can happen in the space of one second, Taicho. In the space of one second, you can have all the time in the world..."

* * *

_Ichigo had closed his eyes. Suddenly, he wasn't in Las Noches. He was standing on the side of a building that had been turned on it's side. He recognized it immediately. It was his Inner World. "Zangetsu? Are you here?" he called out. _

_ "No, your zanpakuto is temporarily unavailable. Remember he dissolved?" Ichigo turned around and saw a Shinigami walking toward him. The face was now very familiar._

_ "Shiba Kaien?" Ichigo gasped. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"_

_ "This will be the last time you see me like this, Kurosaki Ichigo. From now on, you'll just hear me in your thoughts from time to time. You ate his brains, Ichigo. He had my memories in there. I fought like hell to keep my consciousness toward the surface. He used that against Kuchiki and Taicho. For forty years, my memories were being used as a weapon against people I care deeply about. But now, I have the chance to place my knowledge with someone who I know will use them the way I had meant for them to be used, to help others," Kaien said._

_ "Yeah, but people keep thinking I'm your reincarnation, or something like that. Is that true?" Ichigo demanded._

_ "What do you think?" Kaien asked with a shrug._

_ "Dammit! That's the kind of answer psychiatrists would give their patients!" Ichigo growled._

_ Kaien laughed, loudly, at that comment. "Kurosaki, there are two things you need to always keep in the forefront of your mind, no matter what, if you ever want to belong in Soul Society. _

_ "The first, is that we are all just ghosts, when it comes right down to it. And some of us take ourselves a hell of a lot more seriously than we ought to, you might've noticed that. The second thing is that we are all quite mad, actually."_

_ "What?" Ichigo gasped._

_ "Bat-shit nuts, lunatic, cuckoo, bananas, moonies, screwballs, whackadoos, crack-brained..." Kaien continued._

_ "I get the idea!" Ichigo growled._

_ "Well, just take comfort in knowing that no Shinigami, even our beloved Taicho, has both oars in the water, if you get my meaning."_

_ "How am I supposed to take comfort in knowing that everyone around me is insane?" Ichigo demanded._

_ "Well, you _are _now you're going to have a voice in your head from time to time-"_

_ "You mean an _extra _voice...oh," Ichigo said, realizing that he was only confirming what Kaien had been pointing out all along. "So, I'm a ghost, who's crazy."_

_ "Accept it, Kurosaki. When your father left the Gotei 13, I'm sure he had a lot of adjusting to do, living among the humans-" Kaien began, then stopped, realizing that Ichigo had no idea what he was talking about. So instead, he offered Ichigo a flash of memory: Kurosaki Isshin, in his captain's haori, his zanpakuto at his side. It was unmistakable!_

_ "My father was a _Shinigami?_ He was a _Captain?"_ Ichigo stammered._

_ "I had no idea that you didn't know this, Kurosaki! Listen to me carefully. All my knowledge will come on a need-to-know basis, so you don't end up bogged down with stuff you don't need to know or bother about. Right now, you and Taicho are in an assload of trouble. Just try it and see, Kurosaki."_

_ "That's right, I've been here how long? Ukitake must be..!"_

_ "Don't worry, only the space of one second has passed. But in the space of one second, you can have all the time in the world..."_

* * *

Ichigo had awakened then, feeling far better than he had been. Jushiro wasn't looking too good, however. He was bundling up his_ reiatsu._ "Hey, Taicho, don't worry so much. I don't have Zangetsu with me, but not all is lost. Besides, I...think I sense someone coming up ahead."

"Ichigo! Be careful, I think it's an Arrancar!" Jushiro fretted.

"I noticed you haven't coughed since I found you back at the gates, Taicho. You feeling better at least?" Ichigo asked.

"As far as my illness goes, yes, I suppose that might have been just one coughing spell. I was hoping I'd hold out till after the war was over before I fell to my next bout." Jushiro grit his teeth as they rounded the corner. This Arrancar he sensed was familiar...

"Well, well! What have we here? Your pathetic little attempt to keep me from getting access to that chair won't work for long!" a fucshia-haired Arrancar with yellow spectacles for a mask drawled as he stepped down a staircase.

"Szayel Aporro Granz," Ichigo frowned.

"You and I have never met face to face, Kurosaki. However, this does not mean that I haven't completely analyzed all your tactics. I took the carcass of the _Privaron_ Espada you battled earlier on. I know everything about your _reiatsu _by extracting it from his body before hanging him out to dry," Szayel told him coolly. "So I can counter any moves you make against me, _Vizard._ That _is_ what your _species_ is called, isn't it?"

"You sickening _monster!"_ Jushiro seethed.

But Ichigo just shrugged Szayel's comments off. "I will tell you what I told Shinji months ago when he found me. _I am a Shinigami!"_ Ichigo declared. _/Do it now!/_ Ichigo heard Kaien's coaching words. Suddenly, words echoed in his mind, words he didn't know by heart on his own.../_Go with it, Ichigo, now!/_

Ichigo visualized the dark tunnel, leaping into it, just like he'd been taught, once, long ago, then yellow light glowed from his hands. He drew a triangle, with yellow light beaming from each point. _"Bakudo number 30, Shitotsu Sansen!" _Ichigo bellowed, and the three points fired off in Szayel's direction. Szayel was so shocked that he never even gave dodging the spell a thought, and as a result, he was immediately pinned to the wall above the staircase. Ichigo climbed up the stairs and glared at Szayel. "Now, what were you saying about the chair?"

_"Ichigo?" _Jushiro breathed. He couldn't stand anymore, so he was collapsed onto his knees and leaning forward, with tears running down his shocked face.

"You aren't supposed to be able to do this?" Szayel complained. "I analyzed your data, and you were completely incapable of such an ability!"

"Well, you know what they say? Shit happens. Like with that chair. Yeah, I have some memories now, Szayel, ones that tell me all about the chair, how Aizen gave you the directions for making it, and I remember how you actually put Dordonii _in the chair_ after extracting the information about me from him..." Ichigo raged.

_"You...you ate him, didn't you?" _ Szayel rasped. _"Aaroniero...he let you eat him! _Unbelievable! No one has ever _eaten_ any of the Espada, no one! If I put you in the chair, as Aizen-_sama_ had hoped to be able to do, he would reward me beyond my dreams!" Szayel laughed with mad glee.

Ichigo spat. "Aizen's in no position to reward you or even to think about you! He's about to be brought back to Soul Society in Hannibal Lechter style once King Grimmjow expels us from Hueco Mundo."

Szayel's face fell, hard. Then, he suddenly brightened up. "Then, if that is true, if Aizen-sama is defeated, then I offer you the chance to consume me as well, Kurosaki-_vizard._ I will not serve Grimmjow! I WILL NOT!"

"Why not? Wasn't he always a higher rank than you? Maybe he will eat you instead of having you serve him. Or maybe I should just save everyone else the trouble and put you in that chair myself!" Ichigo threatened.

"Ichigo, I forbid it!" Jushiro called to him sharply.

"Which, eating him or putting him in the chair?" Ichigo asked.

_"Putting him in that damned chair!" _Jushiro clarified.

"But I'm still allowed to eat him?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Ichigo, he must not be allowed to ever use that chair again! Destroy him if he doesn't agree to abide by Grimmjow's rule!" Jushiro ordered him.

"If you eat me, you won't have to worry about me using the chair, will you?" Szayel reasoned.

Ichigo heard Kaien explain in his mind, _/He's offering this because all Hollows each eachother in order to gain more power. He figures he can't defeat you (and eat you) because you ate Aaroniero, who was the Ninth Espada, so rather than be eaten by Grimmjow, he'll be eaten by a more powerful Hollow, namely you./_

"I am NOT a HOLLOW! I am a SHINIGAMI!" Ichigo reminded Szayel angrily.

"You selfish, greedy fucking pig, Aaroniero! YOU WON'T SHARE HIM WITH ME!" Szayel raged. "He should only be so privileged to have my superior intelligence! I have so much to offer him!"

Jushiro finally found the strength to stand. He slowly walked up one stair, then the next, all the while with his hazel eyes flashing with bits of angry green. "Shut your mouth! You heard my vice-captain. He told you his answer. It would appear as though not only do you spare your victims not the least bit of dignity, but that you do not have any either."

Ichigo watched Uktiake-_taicho_ walk up the stairs, saw that look in his eyes, noticed that his shikai had been released while he wasn't looking. He gulped. /_Oh, shit. That look tells me he's ready to bust out a Bankai any second!/_

* * *

_to be continued.._


	17. Chapter 17

_Hey! I've been doing some updating and editing to this story. If you take a look at some earlier chapters, you'll see a few changes, including: A newly revised Prologue, some addtional material and scenes, and some spelling and typos corrected. I added a nice Ulqui/Hime scene in chapter 6, if you'd like to go back and check it out._

_Also, I don't know how many of you use Twitter, but I'm on there, and I post on there about updates and things like that. You can look me up on Twitter PC_andrews (please note the capitalized PC and underscore), which is my other pen name on ffnet. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)_

Chapter 17

_His bankai? How do you know? What do you mean?_ Ichigo asked Kaien's memory mind.

_/I'll show you/_ Ichigo veiwed Kaien's memories once again. _/I've only seen Taicho's bankai once.../_ Like a trailer for a movie, the scenes started to flash through Ichigo's mind: Underwater, a huge sunken boat... Ichigo slowed down the flashes for just a moment, like hitting a pause button.

_Could it really be? _"The _Titanic?"_ Ichigo blurted out loud.

Jushiro gaped, apparently distracted enough to forget for one second how disgusted he was with Szayel. _"Ichigo?_ What a time to bring up that whole mess!"

_/And a mess it was! More apt to describe it as a total clusterfuck!/_ The flashes continued: Hollows _everywhere,_ led by what couldn't be anyone lower ranking than a Vasto Lorde. A _female_ Vasto Lorde. _/She ruled the water, even more than Nejibana ever could. My attacks were pretty pointless against her./_ Screaming souls surrounded them like schools of fish...And through them, plowed Ukitake-taicho. One after another, he cut spirits loose from Hollow grips, sliced through those Hollows, working his way ever closer...

"What are you babbling about?" Szayel asked with a frown. "Wasn't the _Titanic_ a ship that sank almost a hundred years ago? What does that have to do with our present situation?"

Ichigo began to speak, in almost a trancelike manner: "Fifteen hundred people died when the _Titanic_ sank, Granz." _/When Ukitake got close enough-/_ "There were too many Hollows, and not nearly enough Shinigami." _/He told her to stop. She refused./_ "I wonder now if Aizen might have had something to do with the failure of Squad Five to dispatch enough Shinigami to the disaster site." _/Ukitake crossed his blades in front of him..._

_"Bankai!"_

_It felt like my entire spirit body had just gotten dragged through a narrow tunnel. And just like that, Nejibana had sealed up. I tried to awaken him again, but Nejibana didn't respond. So unable to do anything else, I dared to look through the searing bright light. Sogyo no Katawari wrapped himself around his master, but something else had as well: it looked a great deal like Hollow mask material! Had Taicho just stolen everyone's powers from us?/_

While watching Ichigo, Jushiro came to a realization, and suddenly did a face-palm motion. "Of course! You have Kaien's memories!"

Ichigo gulped a bit. "Um, yeah?"

Jushiro turned to Szayel and gave him a smug grin. "Ichigo doesn't need your 'superior intellect.' He's got the memories and intelligence now of someone who graduated the Shinigami Academy in two years, something virtually no one does!"

"How dare you! This simpleton didn't _earn_ that knowledge, he _ate_ it from one of my fellow Espada, one who, if he actually used this intellect you keep bragging about, surely didn't amount to much in the end did he? Aaroniero was the weakest of the the top ten Arrancars. He couldn't possibly have been the genius that I am!" Szayel argued.

Ichigo couldn't worry about Szayel's protests, as flashes of that night returned very rapidly. _A huge waterspout funnelled thousands of Hollows up and out of the water, into the night sky. Grabbing anything he could, Kaien dared to look around, and found a very young man dressed in an Academy uniform, with his deep black hair tied back off his face and a stunned expression from his wide gray-blue eyes. "How's he doing that, Kaien-dono? My zanpakuto got sealed, but Ukitake-taicho is using it! That's my shikai, I know it is!" the young man yelled over the din that surrounded them. Pink petals gleamed through the dark waters, thousands upon thousands..._

At once, Ichigo realized who that young man had been: "Byakuya!"

"Ichigo! Are you alright?" Jushiro demanded.

"Taicho, I'll be alright. It's just that you were getting me a little nervous," Ichigo said.

_"I_ was getting _you_ nervous?" Jushiro asked.

"You looked like you were going to perform bankai, Taicho. I got worried. You kinda don't look like you really ought to be doing any bankai right now, sorry," Ichigo said with a wince.

Jushiro sighed, then let the tension in his shoulders go, so both strange blades of Sogyo no Katawari hung at his sides. His hazel eyes started to look bleakly into Ichigo's. "You're right, of course. I...can't-but you can't either!" Jushiro suddenly reprimanded Ichigo. As if to illustrate his point, he sealed Sogyo no Katawari.

"Heh, not without Zangetsu, anyway," Ichigo reminded him.

"Oh, yes, I forgot..." Jushiro sighed.

"Uh, it's just that, later, once we get home and all that, I need to have a little time to, well, sort some stuff out. Like I just found out that my dad had been a Captain of the Court Guard, something that no one cared to tell me about. I mean, _he _never said a word!" Ichigo began.

"Ichigo-kun, I am sorry for that. None of us were allowed to speak of him once he was gone," Jushiro said sadly.

"Okay, so I'll be ten percent mad at you and Rukia, and ninety percent mad at my father for not telling me anything about himself! You and Rukia...if it hadn't been for you and Rukia, I would never have become a Shinigami!" Ichigo told him. _/It all came full circle./_

_Sode no Shirayuki, sliding through my chest...through my heart. And then, freedom..._

Ichigo struggled mightily to keep his composure. After all, that had been his _own_ memory.

_/Full circle. Sode no Shirayuki sliding through my chest...through my heart. And then, freedom.../_

* * *

Meanwhile...Shinji stared at Sosuke and what was left of him. All those years he'd lost, due to Aizen's treachery and deceit. Now, Sosuke was on all fours in his _negación_ prison, gaping raggedly and staring at the remnants of his once mighty zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu. Shinji took a bit of solace in the thought that even though he could not rip Aizen apart from limb to limb, he could revel in his misery at losing his most prized power, the power to decieve and manipulate like a puppetmaster. "Chih," Shinji spat, then sat down with Sakanade across his lap. _My zanpakuto, my Sakanade! I can sense your joy in his defeat too._

Breaking the silence was an almost alien sound, coming from Shinji's pocket, a voice, singing _stop calling, stop calling, i don't wanna talk anymore, i left my head and my heart on the dance floor..._ "They _always_ call when I'm meditating..." Shinji grumbled while digging around for the Blackberry. "Mushi, mushi?" he answered. Grimmjow gaped as Shinji frowned and then hit a red button. "Yeah, thanks to the Fake Karakura Town, FedEx can't deliver my new hard drive because they think there was an _earthquake_ in the area. Sheesh!"

Grimmjow zipped to about one inch away from Shinji's _negación_ barrier. "Were you just..._talking on the phone?"_ he demanded.

"Yeah, it's a cell phone, a Blackberry, see?" Shinji grinned, showing Grimmjow the face of his Blackberry.

"That's not a blackberry! That's a thing with lights and buttons all over it!" Grimmjow protested.

"And if this is confusing to you, you should see a Bluetooth device. It's not blue, it's not a tooth, and it doesn't go in your mouth, it goes in your ear," Shinji teased them.

"'Bluetooth' might be a good name for a Hollow," Tesla mused.

Shinji frowned suddenly. "Hey wait! Why was I able to get a signal here?" He recalled Ichigo's commentary on Hueco Mundo's (nonexistant) cellular coverage.

"That's because you're in _negación, _Shinji! You're technically in the Living World right now!" Shunsui pointed out. "You must contact everyone and tell them what's going on! At least this way, they will get advanced notice of Aizen's expulsion from Hueco Mundo!"

"I know! I'll update my Facebook page!" Shinji announced, then opened the Facebook app.

_**"SHINJI, WE HAVE NO TIME FOR THAT BOOK OF FACES NOW! JUSHIRO COULD DIE!"**_ Shunsui raged.

"Watch and learn, Young Padawan..." Shinji responded without even picking up his head. _"What's on your mind?"_ he read from his news feed page. He started texting in some things, then looked up. "A picture is worth a thousand words," he said smugly, then tried to angle the Blackberry to take a picture of the remains of Kyoka Suigetsu. "Yes, I'll upload _that_ photo. My Hueco Mundo album, heh. Smile Mother Fucker!" he called to Sosuke, aiming the Blackberry and getting him in the screen shot. He took the picture, then kissed the phone in glee. He resumed texting after uploading that photo. "Ha! Guess who's having a bad day? Not ME, mah friends!" Shinji texted, then laughed evilly as he hit the "share" button.

"What did you just do?" Grimmjow gasped.

"I just sent a message to everybody that is my friend on Facebook that Aizen has been defeated and captured, complete with photos. Cool, huh?" he explained to Grimmjow.

"Shinji, even if one of your 'friends' is at their computer, how do they know you just put that thing there?" Shunsui asked with a deep frown.

"Ah, wait for it..." Shinji advised merrily, then a few seconds passed and he frowned. "Come on, Bitches, put your phones on..." he murmured. A minute passed in silence, then, it began. "Boom!" Shinji said softly, imitating the sound of something blowing up. In this case, his Blackberry. "Like they weren't going to comment," Shinji snickered. "We've been waiting over a hundred years for this day! One Hundred Years..." Shinji looked at the first response, and it was from someone who had friended him a while back that he didn't actually personally know, but was a friend of Ichigo's...

Ishida Uryu's thumbs were working furiously. "Hey! I was talking to you, Glasses!" Hiyori growled, then frowned when her cell phone chimed in the corner of the makeshift sick room in Urahara Shoten. "Ugh? Who the hell could be texting me now?"

"This is unbelievable! You've GOT to see this!" Uryu gasped, then shuffled over to Hiyori's side to show her the photos that Shinji had posted on Facebook. Hiyori took Uryu's phone and started making heaving squeaks as the pictures slowly sunk into her mind.

"Oh my goodness, what is it?" Isane asked.

"I...I...I never thought this day would come..." Hiyori rambled in a high, breaking voice.

"Ishida-kun? Has something happened?" Orihime and Ulquiorra came into the room, followed by Rukia. "Hiyori-chan? What is it?"

"It's AIZEN! AIZEN is DEFEATED!" Uryu announced loudly. This got the attention of everyone within earshot of the sick room.

"How do you know this?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Hirako Shinji updated his Facebook page! He took pictures of Aizen's zanpakuto being broken!" Uyru told them with uncharacteristic excitement.

Chad, who also was normally pretty silent, spoke. "Ishida, I don't understand something. If Hirako was able to update his Facebook, that means he'd have to have a signal somewhere. Where are they?"

"I can answer that question for you, Sado," Genryusai announced, entering the room. "If he is in the Living World, then those photos might be geotagged. Saguraki, can you find out this information for us?"

"Y..Yeah, sure, Sotaicho. Here let me see," she ordered Uryu to turn over his phone. Hiyori went into Uryu's phone more indepth, then sighed a couple of seconds later. "Well, Geotagging says he's north of here, Kasumiguara Lake."

"How can that be?" Orihime asked. "I thought they were still in Hueco Mundo!"

"Hirako apparently is trapped in _negación._ We must find out when he will be released, and when Aizen will be released into the Living World, so that we can meet them there and take him into custody! Kasumiguara Lake area is not as densely populated at Karakura Town, however, we must make quick work of capturing the traitiors as soon as they are released," Genryusai told them.

"Sotaicho, we should not wait. We need to get there as soon as possible," Kira Izuru said in an uncharacteristic show of self starting.

"Agreed! Anyone whose injuries have been stablized, meet the rest of us at that location as soon as you are able. Kuchiki-taicho, Zaraki-taicho, Kurotsuchi-taicho-" Genryusai began his orders.

"Forgive me, Sotaicho, but I must remain here and supervise the restoration of the real Karakura Town," Mayuri simpered.

Genryusai grunted, "Very well. Unohana-taicho, bring everyone here back to Soul Society. It is time that we withdrew from the Living World."

"But Sotaicho, what about Ukitake? He's bound to be seriously ill when he is sent back," Retsu pointed out.

"There is someone else who can help him, and he'll know to go to this person, once the real Karakura Town is brought back to the Living World. Send Hirako the message of where we will be assembling, so that everyone knows what they are doing!" All the senior officers nodded, and more than a few vanished immediately afterward, hoping to make it in time to bring Aizen to justice at last...

* * *

In _negación,_ Shinji was having a hell of a time keeping up with the comments. So engrossed was he that he didn't notice an Arrancar stumbling towards them, wtih a smaller Arrancar in his arms. He barely heard Grimmjow exclaim, "It's Starrk! Holy shit, it's Starrk! Hurry Tesla, something happened!" Shinji popped his head up for just a second to see them meet up near Shunsui's _negación_ barrier. "What happened to the child?" he heard Shunsui gasp. Shinji looked back up again to see a child Arrancar lying nearly dead in a male Arrancar's arms. He looked very vaguely familiar. _Didn't I see him in Fake Karakura Town?_

"He had a battle with Yammy after Aizen sicced him on him," Grimmjow explained. Tesla could only stand there helplessly as Starrk sank to the sandy ground and Lilynette's hand dropped lifelessly beside them. From Shinji's angle, he could not see the child clearly.

"Grimmjow-heika, please, let me out of here! I can help her, I know healing _kido_ that could heal her!" Shunsui begged.

Grimmjow appeared to be in a quandry, especially when this Starrk said sharply, "No! I can't accept any favors from any Shinigami, especially not this one!"

"Starrk! Please, don't let that child die simply because you don't want to accept any favors from me!" Shunsui pressed.

Shinji frowned and cut into the argument. "Hey, everyone listen up! I got news from the Captain Commander himself. They're assembling where the photos I took were geotracked (I wonder who thought of that one, that was pretty quick thinking) well, anyway, Grimmjow-haika, thery're going to be ready anytime you are!"

"I didn't quite understand all that you said, but I got the jist of it anyway. Alright, here's what we'll do. Starrk, do Kyoraku here a favor while he's healing Lilinette. Go find his friend Ukitake and that Kurosaki punk, make sure they're alright. As soon as he's done healing Lilinette, the _negación_ is taking them back to the Living World," Grimmjow planned.

"Can I trust you with Lilinette?" Starrk asked him.

"Can I trust you with Jushiro?" was Shunsui's response.

Starrk looked away for a second, then sighed. "We're not enemies anymore."

"No, we're not enemies anymore, Starrk," Shunsui agreed.

"Then, yes, I'll go and get your friend, the white haired one, right? He was in that chair. He was chatting up Ulquiorra, trying to defend me from Szayel. He's a real shit-kicker, that guy! You sure he'll even go with me?" Starrk asked.

Grimmjow laughed. "Starrk, he's more beat-up than even you are right now..."

* * *

Jushiro frowned as he watched Ichigo struggle. "Ichigo-kun, let's get out of here. Grimmjow is probably ready to send Shunsui after me by now."

"Right. Alright, let's go, but first, we need to take care of Szayel," Ichigo pointed out. "What do you want to do?"

"I'd rather leave him alone, but if we can't trust him to not attempt to restore that chair..." Jushiro fretted.

"You're kidding yourselves. You'll never leave Hueco Mundo alive in your condition. But I can help you with that. The shinigami, I can't help him. He's destined to die very soon, turn into a pile of dust. But you, Visored, I can help you. If you eat me, you might be able to live long enough to get back to your Soul Society," Szayel told him.

Ichigo became extremely alarmed and turned to look carefully at Jushiro. _/He's suffering from lack of food. The higher the reiryoku, the more a spirit form needs food. After the battle he had with Aizen, travelling here using the Soul Ribbon, not to mention the fact that he needed to recuperate from that wound he had, left him in a dangerous condition. Trouble is, you, we, are in this very same condition too./_

_"I'll _take care of him, Ichigo's Taicho!" a woman's voice called out across the chamber.

"Nel! Perfect timing!" Ichigo called back to her.

"Nel?" Jushiro asked, turning around to see, not the little child Arrancar he'd seen last night, but a fully grown woman with shimmering long teal hair and pale gray eyes, wearing a cracked Hollow mask that looked like a ram's skull on her head. She was still wearing her little green dress, only, on a fully grown woman, well, the dress didn't cover very much.

"Ichigo's Taicho! You're out of the chair!" Nel cried happily, then launched herself into Jushiro, just like she had last night. Only, well, Nel was a lot...bigger...than she had been last night. Jushiro ending up face down in Nel's cleavage while she embraced him tightly. "Oh, thank goodness you're safe. Are you all better now, or do you need me to heal you more?"

"Er, Nel? Uh, Nel, be careful, Taicho can't breathe too well as is," Ichigo winced. Jushiro made a feeble attempt to raise his hand up, but then it drooped to his side.

"Oh! Is Taicho not feeling well? Here, let me see," Nel ordered him, laying Jushiro flat on his back and opening up his shikahakusho to reveal the old wound from where Wonderweiss had impaled him.

"Don't bother, Nelliel! Even your abilities cannot save him now!" Szayel announced as the yellow bindings dissolved and he stepped forward.

"Don't come any closer, Granz!" Nelliel warned him, but Szayel kept coming, with a creepy grin slowly forming over his face.

"My, my! Imagine how it would be to _feed_ on the Visored... has anyone ever eaten one of _them_ before?" Szayel mused, then paused to draw his zanpakuto. With a chuckle, he tipped his head back and said, "Sip, Fornicaras!"

"Nel! Get Jushiro out of here!" Ichigo ordered her.

"Ichigo, no!" Jushiro tried to yell.

Szayel dipped the edge of his zanpakuto into his mouth, swallowing the blade. Ichigo simply stood there, waiting, shaking his head ever so slightly. "I know this trick all too well, Taicho."

"So do I, Ichigo! Please, go with him and I'll take care of that madman!" Nel squeaked. And just then, another Arrancar showed up...

* * *

_to be continued_


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Szayel! What are you doing?" Tia demanded, slowly making her way into the chamber. Ichigo instantly recognized her, not because she'd actually fought him, but because of the memories of both Aaroniero and Kaien. _That female Vasto Lorde from the Titanic! She became an Arrancar! Will she recognize Jushiro?_

"Tia, be careful!" Lisa called out, following her in with her zanpakuto already released. Szayel eyed her with interest.

"Well, well! We have a half-dead _Tres, _a former _Tres, _and now, I do believe we've got not merely one, but _two_ of that new Visored species!" Szayel unfurled his branches as the mist cleared from his _resurreción._

"Szayel, what is going on here? Why have you released your zanpakuto?" Tia demanded. She limped over to Jushiro. "Is this him? I can barely recognize you with all this slime and blood all over you," Tia told him.

"Forgive me, but I only briefly noticed you during the battle yesterday," Jushiro began.

Tia grit her teeth. "It wasn't the battle _yesterday_ when I fought you last, White Shinigami!"

Ichigo stepped forward. "Harribel-san, please listen," he began.

Tia gave Ichigo a hard green gaze. "What is there to tell me? I fought him! He has a power. That's what makes him believe he can thwart Aizen by sitting in that chair. But look where that belief has gotten you, White Shinigami!"

"Tia-san, what's going on? Are you saying you have met him before?" Nanao asked in shock.

"Well, well, then it all comes full circle," Szayel grinned, then, he struck! His tentacle-like wing streaked across the room, and grabbed Jushiro by his ankle. The Shinigami captain found himself surrounded inside a pod, but his arms were sticking out, since Nel and Tia had quickly managed to grab them.

"Stay out of this, Nelliel, Harribel, these Shinigami are _my_ kills!" Szayel hissed.

"Hado # 54, _Haien!"_ Nanao called out, and the purple gleam of the Abolishing Flames sliced through Szayel's branch. The pod around him dispintegrated, and Jushiro barrelled into Nel, sending them both back and into Tia. As all three crashed onto the floor, Szayel smacked Nanao aside and sent her careening into a nearby wall.

Ichigo leaped into action; the words of the spell had been scrolling through his head the whole time, courtesy of Kaien's memories. "Hado #33, _Sokatsui!"_ he yelled, filling the entire area with blue light. Szayel was blown clear to the next room.

"Kurosaki-san! I don't know why, but I never realized you could use _kido,"_ Nanao stammered as Ichigo helped her up from the floor.

"Well, I have no choice, my zanpakuto was dissolved. Besides, how could I _not _use that spell, it's Rukia's favorite! Er, Taicho? You alright?" Ichigo asked.

Lisa stomped over to where Jushiro was lying, sort of on top of a dog pile of rather voluptuous Arrancars. She pointed Haguro Tonbo at him in a sort of joking manner. "So! Looks like that scumbag friend of yours has been teaching you a few of his tricks, hasn't he!"

_"Lisa!"_ Jushiro cried, reaching his hands up toward her, grabbing the end of her long-arm blade. She pulled him up off the Arrancar ladies, and as soon as he was able to stand on his feet, she dropped Haguro Tonbo onto the floor with a clang. And with that, they melded into a close embrace.

With a bit of shock, Ichigo watched his captain draw Lisa into a long, deep kiss! _/This is news to me!_/ Tia was the next one to try and rise from the floor, all the while grumbling, "I should have known all that fuss trying to rescue this White Shinigami was merely because he's your man!"

"Isn't it sweet?" Nel grinned. "We see so little love in Hueco Mundo, do we?"

"Yes, indeed, how _romantic,"_ Szayel sneered as he strolled back into the room. He had a smirk on his face, and he was holding a tiny white haired dollie in his pointy fingers.

"Szayel! No!" Ichigo yelled. For he knew _exactly_ what Szayel had in that dollie...

"What is it, Kurosaki-san?" Nanao asked.

"Yes, _Aaroniero, _tell them what this is, and what it does," Szayel taunted Ichigo.

"It's like a voodoo doll..." Ichigo began, ignoring for the moment that he was being called another name besides his own for the second time today...

"Oh, tut tut! This romantic scene was starting out so well, let's not spoil it with such lame acting, _Aaroniero," _Szayel snapped in annoyance.

_"Stop calling me that! I'm a SHINIGAMI!"_ Ichigo roared.

Szayel laughed merrily at Ichigo's rage. "Ah! Much better! All you need is proper direction, and you become a star!" Szayel held the Jushiro dollie up for all to see, then he ripped it in half. Lisa and Nanao screamed. "Ha ha! Such an audience! And you haven't even witnessed the best part of this performance!" Everyone watched raptly as Szayel dropped the Jushiro dollie's head on the floor and slowly unscrew the top of a small jar that had been held inside.

"Szayel Aporro Granz, I've seen this performance before, and it's a bore," Tia grumbled.

"Don't make me release my_ resurreción, _Granz!" Nel warned him.

"I told you to stay out of it, Bitch! Harribel-sama, you may be bored, but I suggest you stay tuned to the rest of our little drama about to unfold," Szayel advised her. "I think you might actually enjoy the theatrics."

"Why?" Tia asked shortly.

"Because..." Szayel began to answer as he drew "The Spine" from the jar and gently bend it backwards, "I'm about to script in _'Sacrifice,' _Harribel-sama." Jushiro felt his back begin to slowly hyperextend back, as though he was preparing to take part in a limbo contest.

Lisa screamed and tried to hold Jushiro up. _"Stop this! What do you want?"_ she shrieked.

"It's very simple. I want to eat a Visored!" Szayel told her.

"You have my attention, Szayel, leave my captain alone!" Ichigo warned him.

Szayel fished around in the little jar and smiled as he pulled out the set of two lungs. "Wow, these don't look all too well, do they? You ask me, in such an anguished manner, what I want? Either the Visoreds surrender right now, or..." Szayel threatened with a maniacal glint in his eyes as he applied pressure to Jushiro's lungs. Blood spurted from his mouth as one lung collapsed within. "What's it going to be, _Visoreds?"_

_"Stop it! Alright, I'll go!" _Lisa cried.

With his last remaining strength, Jushiro grabbed Lisa by the arm. _"NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU GO TO HIM!"_

"I can't let him kill you, Jushiro! I can't live any longer if you are gone!" Lisa cried. "All these years, the only thing that gave me any hope was the thought that someday, I'd see you again! My life does not equal yours, Jushiro!"

"Ichigo! You're my vice-captain, Nanao, you're my colleague's Vice-Captain, and right now, I am the highest ranking officer here. I'm ordering you both to get everyone the hell out of here, NOW!" Jushiro commanded them. Then he turned to Szayel. "You're a fool. Why would you want to eat one of them, who are so much younger than I? _I'm_ the one who brought Kyoka Suigetsu down! Imagine how much more powerful you would become after eating a Shinigami of such enourmous power?"

Szayel considered this, then eased his tightening fingers on Jushiro's lung. "Fine. I'll eat you, then, I'll have _them _for dessert," he snickered.

_"I won't go Jushiro! I won't leave you!" _Lisa wailed, then she put on her Visored mask. She screeched and went to charge Szayel.

Ichigo intercepted her with his own mask on, so his physical strength could possibly hold up against hers. She sturggled and shrieked, giving Ichigo a real workout as he tried to keep her in his grasp. "N...Nanao-san! I can't do any spells!" Ichigo's filtered voice warned her.

"Right! Bakudo #4, _Hainawa!"_ Nanao bellowed, and the glowing yellow Crawling Rope snared Lisa as Ichigo released her with precise timing. Lisa gasped as she fell to the floor, and her mask crumbled off her tear streaked face.

"No! I can't leave him here!" she still protested.

"Lisa! Do you really think that I could stand by and watch you get devoured by an Arrancar because you sacrificed yourself to spare my life? Such an outrage is completely out of the question! And you know this! Please, leave me to this fate..." Jushiro said with failing breath and a rasp in his voice. Lisa could not answer, she simply began to sob. Jushiro limped over to her, and Szayel seethed. But he was ignored, as Jushiro dropped to the floor next to Lisa. "Please my love, please let me do what I need to do," he whispered into her ear. Lisa's bottom lip trembled and tears streamed from her eyes. He gently took off her glasses and wiped her tears. Cupping her face, he kissed her lips softly.

"Ah, such a love story! Too bad this one's coming to an end!" Szayel announced, pulling Jushiro up by the hair.

"Take it easy, Granz!" Tia growled. Ichigo and Nanao took Lisa from the ground and held onto her by her shoulders. As Jushiro was dragged back, he took advantage of the fact that Szayel wasn't watching his face very carefully, and he faced the rest of them in the chamber.

And gave them a big wink.

Ichigo removed his mask and said, "Taicho, what are your final orders?"

"Take them out of here, Ichigo-kun. Tell Shunsui and my sensei exactly what happened here," Jushiro ordered him.

"Yes, Taicho." Lisa quieted down a little, but she still sobbed heavily. Nanao joined in the angst, and soon, even the two female Arrancars were showing their sorrow.

"Goodbye, Ichigo's Taicho," Nel wept sadly.

"Your sacrifices will be long remembered," Tia murmured. Nel reached out and grabbed Tia's hand, and for one moment, they simply bowed their heads.

"We have to move, we don't want to get caught again once Granz is...done," Ichigo urged them. They all departed then.

Szayel applauded! "Bravo! What a performance! I nearly wept myself!" he crowed.

"Why thank you," Jushiro answered with a tiny smile curling his lips.

Szayel sighed with satisfaction as he picked his way through the jar to get "The Heart." He made a short laugh. "How _apropos,_ me drawing out 'The Heart,' isn't it?" He carefully held the tiny duplicate organ between his pointy fingertips. "I will kill you first, then eat you. Frankly, I think if I ate you whole, you would be a bit unpalatable. I had some fun with some other Shinigami recently. I burst their insides, broke their bones...Aren't you even a little scared? They writhed in agony! I found it quite entertaining. Can you scream in pain?" Szayel asked him teasingly.

Jushiro felt the first wave of pain crash against him. "Such a sensation is barely worthy of a sigh, let alone writhing in agony! Those two you tortured, they were Abarai and Ishida, weren't they? A Vice-Captain and a Quincy. I'm sorry to make light of their pain, but they are children. They cry when they fall down, it's unavoidable. That is the way with little ones," Jushiro explained.

"Are you trying to say that other captain I faced was also a child?" Szayel demanded.

"Compared to me, of course!" Jushiro scoffed.

"Hm. Are you trying to say that you're so old you might be tough?" Szayel asked snapping his fingers.

"I offer no guarantees about my freshness," Jushiro quipped.

"Well, you know what you're supposed to do with tough meat, don't you? You're supposed to break it down until it tenderizes," Szayel quipped right back. "To start, I think I'll break this..."

Szayel gripped "The Spine" again, but before he could crack it in half, Jushiro raised his fingers and pointed at Szayel. "Bakudo # 61, _Rikujokoro!"_ The Six Rods Prison of Light fanned out around Szayel's waist, and in shock, he suddenly found that he could not even move his fingers slightly to squeeze "The Spine" any further than he had. Stiffly, Jushiro limped to face Szayel up close. "You look confused. You didn't know any Shinigami could do something like this, did you? The subjects you studied were immature and/or actually human, in other words, I highly doubt that Abarai Renji could use higher level _kido _like this spell, and as for Ishida Uryu, he's a human, and Quincies, to my knowledge, don't practice the Demon Arts. As for my colleague Mayuri, I have no clue why he didn't use a spell like this, as he is supposed to be even more adept than I. Perhaps, he just has a flair for the dramatic too. I'll take this," he told Szayel, taking the jar and the tiny spine from the purple fingertips. Once Jushiro had them securely in his hand, he took a few steps back and drew his zanpakuto. "I, for one, have little stomach for the drama anymore. You made Lisa cry, and that doesn't sit well with me, not one bit."

Szayel managed to eke out the words from his lips, "Will you strike me down?"

"I'd be much obliged if you didn't strike down any more of us, Shinigami," Jushiro heard a voice call out. He turned and saw Starrk approaching.

"Now what?" Jushiro asked weakly.

"I was sent by Grimmjow. He's got this whole 'king' idea and I'm playing along. I actually think it's rather funny. Better him than me, I say," Starrk admitted.

"Starrk? so, you survived your battle with Yammy? I'm so gl-"

"Lillinette didn't fare so well. Your pal is supposedly healing her. He..he _knows_ how to heal people, doesn't he?" Starrk asked hesitantly.

"Of course he does, don't worry. He's an accomplished practitioner of _kido,_ both the fighting kind and the healing kind. And he certainly wouldn't allow a child to perish if he could at all help it," Jushiro assured him.

"Very well. I'll trust him, because _you_ trust him. This jack-fool giving you grief?" Starrk sniffed, pointing at Szayel. "Sure looks like it. Grimmjow thought you were going to be pretty beat up. Looks like he was right. Where's the Kurosaki boy?"

"Not far from here, why?" Jushiro asked.

"This is why," Starrk replied, and snapped his gloved fingers. Suddenly, Jushiro was trapped inside _negación _once more. "You and the Kurosaki boy are being sent back to that fake town. Apparently one of your comrades has a magical berry that he uses to talk to other Shinigami. Grimmjow is releasing Aizen at some other location not too far away. But I was told to tell you that you and Kurosaki aren't supposed to get involved. That's all I know," Starrk revealed.

"Who gave _that _order? Shunsui?" Jushiro asked a bit crossly.

"I think the order came from higher up, frankly. Besides, you ought to take advantage of the pass! You're a mess!" Starrk remarked, then backed up a few steps. He watched as Jushiro was lifted out of the room, over the rooftop of the building, then further still, crashing through the ceiling of Las Noches.

Jushiro looked down and called to Starrk, "Please, make sure everyone here remains safe from the chair!" Starrk simply gazed back up at him with his lips twisted slightly.

"I dunno, Szayel, where these people get their energy from..." Starrk sighed. Above them, higher and higher Jushiro floated, watching the deep black of the garganta draw ever closer, unfurling in the dark sky of Hueco Mundo...

* * *

_To be continued..._


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next thing he knew, Jushiro was lying face down on an asphalt street, just like he had been a couple of days ago. He was in the Fake Karakura Town that Kurotsuchi Taicho had spent months building, only to have it near-destroyed in the span of a few hours. _It takes so much more time to create than to destroy sometimes._ He coughed, and a spray of blood had come up. His heart sank a bit. _Ichigo's right, no one's ever going to let up on me now. I'll be lucky if I'm allowed outside by spring after this adventure!_

Wearily, Jushiro looked to his left, then to his right. _Where is Ichigo? I hope Grimmjow didn't accidentally send him to fight with the others! _But just as the thought passed through his mind, Jushiro found Ichigo a few yards away.

"Ichigo? Are you alright?" Jushiro asked weakly, starting to crawl toward him.

Ichigo heard Jushiro, but he wasn't sure he had enough strength to answer him. He could barely move. He didn't quite understand this, since he'd been feeling alright just a minute ago...

_/We're in the Living World, that's the reason you feel so weak. In the Living World, we don't have the access to reishi that we have in Soul Society or for that matter, in Hueco Mundo./ _As usual having an extra voice in his head caught Ichigo momentrily off guard. Of course Kaien was probably dead accurate. It made sense to Ichigo. _But why am I cold? I'm nearly teeth-chattering cold! I don't remember feeling cold when not in my real body. Why would cold reach me when I'm not in my flesh body?_

Ichigo looked up to the twilight sky, and saw a dark silhouette. It looked human, but something wasn't quite right. "I'm amazed that you're still alive, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you needn't worry. You soon will die. You won't suffer, much..."_  
_

Ichigo could hear his captain wail, _"Aizen! How did you escape everyone?"_

Despite this, Ichigo didn't panic. Even as Sosuke peered down over Ichigo with a Hollow Mask over his face, not a jolt of panic sparked inside him. Whether this was just out of tiredness, Ichigo would never know. _He's wounded. I think he wants to eat me, just like I ate Aaroniero._

"Hey, what's the matter, Aizen? Someone got you pretty bad there, didn't they?" Ichigo taunted with his last bit of voice. It came out hoarse, as though he'd needed a drink of water.

"It may be true that I don't have my zanpakuto, Kurosaki, but don't be so smug. I don't need him anymore. You, on the other hand, need your zanpakuto in order to attack me, but you don't have it. I'm not aware that Metastacia ever was able to return a zanpakuto to its Shinigami. It was always a moot point; he never left any survivors," Sosuke grinned.

Ichigo heard Kaien in his mind. _/Don't worry. Metastacia always kept the essence of the zanpakuto. You ate Aaroniero. Zangetsu is inside you. But you have to call him out./_

At that moment, Ichigo felt uncertain. He had no idea what Zangetsu's release command even was. He'd always carried Zangetsu unsealed, as Ichimaru had mocked him about earlier. _How am I supposed to call Zangetsu now when I've never really known how to?_

Sosuke saw that Ichigo was in a turmoil. "How did you survive after Aaroniero dissolved your zanpakuto?" he asked with mild curiosity.

Ichigo quickly raised his hands before his face. _"Hado #1, Sho!"_ Ichigo whispered, and Sosuke's look of surprise was worth the effort that Ichigo expended to perform the Banishing spell. Sosuke was thrown back, giving Ichigo enough room and time to try and roll away. Sosuke was weakened, but Ichigo knew instictively that he wasn't as weak as he himself. _Any ideas, Kaien?_ Ichigo thought.

_/How did you first find out the name of your zanpakuto? And how did you find out the name of your shikai attack?/_

Ichigo became a bit apprehensive. Everytime he had to deal with Zangetsu, it took a long time and required full concentration. These were things both in short supply at the moment.

But just then, Ichigo was rescued. Jushiro managed to reach Sosuke and hold him down to the ground. This amused Sosuke judging from the tone of his voice. "My dear Ukitake! I shouldn't be neglecting you, should I? My apologies, old man. You should know that I left all of your fellow Shinigami in a state so near death that there is virtually no way anyone can come to your rescue. They are in just as bad a shape as your are. Kyoraku is now bleeding from his lungs just as you are. You dear Yamamoto is missing an arm now, and it's really all _your_ doing. Yes, you were too quick to believe that I was helpless just because you shattered my zanpakuto. The Hogyoku does not believe that I need Kyoka Suigetsu any longer. In your infinite arrogance, you thought you'd be 'sporting' and leave the Hogyoku with me. Do you feel foolish now? Do you regret what you've done? Do you now understand how futile all your efforts were?"

As difficult as it was for him, Ichigo closed his eyes and plunged into his Inner World. "Zangetsu?" he bellowed, "Where are you? I can't see you!"

"And you won't be able to see me any longer," Ichigo heard Zangetsu warn him in an unusually faint voice.

"Why not? What's going on?"

"We are dying. It is that simple."

Ichigo grit his teeth. "No way! I can't die now! My captain needs me-"

"You damned fool!" Ichigo recognized the voice with dismay. Abruptly the sky of his Inner World grew dark, and the moon, an extreme crescent shape, appeared, reflecting off the glass of the sideways buildings of his Inner World.

Ichigo's Hollow Self energed, his pale white skin spotted as though he'd been stabbed with a thin needle all over his body. "You let that _Shinigami_ in!"

"Wait a minute! _You're the one who told me to eat Aaroniero in the first place!"_ Ichigo protested.

"Well, you didn't _have to,_ just because _I told you to..."_ he countered weakly. Ichigo seethed in spite of his weariness. _The only thing that's going to be the death of me is my Inner Hollow!_

"I don't have the time for this! He's going to kill my captain, and then he's going to kill me, if I can't defend myself!" Ichigo took all his remaining strength and stood up on the building's side. He saw Zangetsu, perched on his stilt with his ragged cloak streaming behind him. He would not look at Ichigo. "Zangetsu, I need you! You can come to me, I know it!" Ichigo held out his hand, stretching it as far forward as he could managed, while his Inner Hollow cackled and bled behind him.

A few moments passed, silent except for the occasional hiccup of glee from Ichigo's Hollow self. Ichigo finally saw Zangetsu raise his head and eye him. "Come on Zangetsu! Hurry! _Please!"_

"You fucking idiot! You already forgot that _you're his master!_ Some king! No king uses the word_ 'please!'" _his Hollow self taunted.

Kaien suddenly appeared over the vertical horizon of Ichigo's Inner World. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again," Ichigo admitted.

"Yeah, well, you are trying to save Ukitake's life. He means a great deal to me. Aizen has to be defeated!" Kaien told him.

"Blah, blah, blah! Ukitake, _another_ Shinigami. Trying to make him a Shinigami..." Hollow Self grunted angrily.

"You can go piss off!" Ichigo told him. "I sure as hell don't use the word 'please' with you! I'll go over there and step on your neck if you don't shut your mouth! I am a _Shinigami!"_ He turned to Kaien, who looked a bit taken aback. _"I'm the king and he's the horse!"_

"Understood. Your zanpakuto, however, is _not_ a horse," Kaien told him. "Horses don't usually understand a shikai command. But your zanpakuto _must_ be addressed with a suitable command at some point. Listen to me. Look around you. The clues are right in front of you!" Kaien urged Ichigo.

Ichigo was troubled, not only by Kaien's riddle-type answer, but by the sheer fact that it was nightfall in his Inner World. Zangetsu was a building away. There was a gulf between them that one could only jump very far across.

Or, possibly, _fly..._

_Fly..._

"Zangetsu you can do it! You have to _fly_ over here!" Ichigo urged him. Zangetsu showed a slight interest in what he was saying. Encouraged, Ichigo continued his calling out, like he was trying to get stubborn mule to stand again. "Come on, Zangetsu, _fly across_ that gap. I know you can do it!"

"Ichigo, I think you're making progress," Kaien told him with a touch of excitement.

Zangetsu glared at the reflection of the moon on the building on which Ichigo had stood. Ichigo gaped at the reflection and nearly shook his head in disbelief. _The clues are right in front of me...__Can it really be that simple?_ He'd always wondered, how _do_ Shinigami or even the Arrancars discover what their shikai commands are? And now, he discovered his own! "In the space of a second..."

"You have all the time in the world!" Kaien finished for him, then, nodded once and dissolved.

Ichigo drew a deep breath, held his hand out before him one more time and commanded, _"Fly across the moon, Zangetsu!"_

Zangetsu raised his head and smiled...

* * *

Sosuke and Jushiro wrestled on the pavement. Jushiro's heart was pounding and with every beat, more blood filled his crushed lung, He'd lost his grip on Sogyo no Katawari, and Sosuke brazenly grabbed it. "What are you doing?" Jushiro asked in disbelief when he saw Sosuke holding the sword.

"How long ago was it, Ukitake? When were you last impaled by your own zanpakuto?" Sosuke asked slowly, dramatically.

Jushiro gaped in utter shock. "H..How do you know about that?" he stammered.

Sosuke nearly laughed as he pushed Jushiro onto his stomach and held him in place with his foot. "You were a young student of your beloved Yamamoto-sensei, so much _younger,_ and even though you were sickly back in those days as well, I'm certain you had more capacity to heal than you do at this moment. Once I kill you, I'll kill your precious new vice-captain, and then it will be over. It was because of _you and your friend Kyoraku that my father was executed! And now, at last, I get my revenge!" _Sosuke screamed. Jushiro, too overcome with shock to move, suddenly felt a wash of blood pour over him. However the pain he was expecting, like he had felt when Samurakami Masashi, the grievously fallen captain of Squad Five over a thousand years ago, had taken Jushiro's zanpakuto and drove it through his back into the ground, pinning him onto a dirt road before kidnapping Shunsui, never came.

"_Get the fuck away from my captain,"_ Jushiro heard someone growl. The foot that had been holding his back down came away, so he was able to roll over.

It was Ichigo. His zanpakuto was plunged into Sosuke's torso, going in under one arm and out the other end. The blood was flowing from Sosuke's lips. Then, Ichigo pulled Zangetsu out of Sosuke's body, and backed away unconsciously from all the blood spurting out. The pieces of Sosuke's Hollow mask crumbled off his face. Those angry sepia eyes turned onto Ichigo, and he grit his teeth. "What's the matter? Don't like my blood? _My blood is just as good as yours, Shiba!"_ Sosuke's hands gripped Ichigo's neck. _"I come from a family just as noble as yours, Shiba, so you can just drop your fancy airs around me!"_

Ichigo's strength had ebbed away. He dropped Zangetsu and reached up to Sosuke's mad hands, trying to peel his angry digging fingers off his trachea. "What are you talking about?" Ichigo managed to ask. Sosuke's fingers dug in deeper, and Ichigo was unable to draw in any more breath.

"Was _your_ father a captain of the Court Guard? Was _your_ mother a captain of the Court Guard as well? The Shiba clan fell from power because there's no power left in your family, Kaien! But in the _Kuchiki _family, they produce one captain after another, don't they? Don't you know how fitting it would have been if Kuchiki Rukia had been executed the same way my father had been? Aren't you curious, Shiba? _Don't you want to know?" _Sosuke demanded in near hysteria. Ichigo could barely see anymore, as twilight was falling, not only on the world, but on him as well.

And just as quickly as Sosuke's hands had gripped his neck, they were pried away. "Leave 'im alone, ya lunatic!" Ichigo slipped down, next to Jushiro, and they both were able to see Ichimaru Gin turning Sosuke around and delve his hand into Sosuke's chest. He screamed from the pain of the Hogyoku's extraction, and it filled the darkening cold air. Sosuke sunk down, and Gin stared for a second at the Hogyoku.

He showed it to Jushiro and Ichigo, a shimmering orb that sort of reminded Ichigo of a hyper jewel. "This ain't the same Hogyoku that was stolen from Rukia-chan back in August, ya know," Gin informed them.

"What do you mean, Ichimaru?" Jushiro asked coldly.

"Aizen started makin' his own Hogyoku, an' stealin' other people's powers to do it," Gin answered, his native Rukongai accent coloring his words.

"Stealing other people's powers? Like whose?" Ichigo asked with a raspy voice.

"Like Rangiku's, fer one!" Gin admitted.

Jushiro's face suddenly registered understanding. "All this time, we thought-"

"Yeah, o' course ya thought it! That was the way Hirako-taicho wanted it! Now, we gotta shut up an' get ya two back ta Soul Society before ya die," Gin said.

"No! Just take Ichigo, if you are taking anyone. Someone has to watch Aizen!" Jushiro declared.

"Yeah, I guess yer right, though if I don't take you, Yamamoto is gonna have my head," Gin argued.

"Please, Ichimaru, don't worry about my sensei. I will explain to him that you took Ichigo back," Jushiro said hurriedly. "Now, go!"

"Fine. Let's go, Kurosaki," Gin sighed, heaving Ichigo up off the pavement and balancing him on one shoulder. At just that precise moment, the rest of the people who had been fighting Sosuke a few towns away arrived. Among them was...

_"Ichimaru! What are you doing with my son?"_ Kurosaki Isshin demanded, coming in at full speed with his zanpakuto over his head ready to strike. Much to Jushiro's chagrin, Gin seemed incapable of doing anything except stare with wide eyes at Isshin's descent.

"Isshin! NO!" Jushiro yelled, and then, it seemed like the entire world lit up on fire around them, and Jushiro finally fell away in a stupor.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Dad! Stop!" Ichigo tried to scream, but nothing came out. The flames had to be from Ryujin Jakka, Yamamoto's zanpakuto. The Flame Fortress would not let Gin or Ichigo out.

Gin put Ichigo back down, then raised the Hogyoku over his silver head. "Hear me now! Put out these flames and let us escape!" he commanded the Hogyoku. Ichigo watched in amazement as the flames ebbed away, at least from the top of the Fortress. Gin immediately unsheathed Shinso and pointed him at the sky. _"Open!" _he ordered and turned the zanpakuto like a key, opening a senkaimon gate. Ichigo struggled to rise to his feet so Gin wouldn't have to go through the effort of picking him up again. As soon as the gates slid open, Gin took Ichigo on his shoulder again and leaped into the senkaimon.

Once they were actually inside the Dangai Precipice, Ichigo felt like he should say something. "I'm sorry I can't do more; I'm not used to being so useless," he apologized.

"Just don' worry about it. Ye've done way, way more than ya think-" Gin was saying, but then stopped running rather suddenly. Ichigo lurched forward as well from the momentum. Ominous looking cris-crossed wires were blocking their way.

"We've got company..." Gin muttered, turning back to face an oncoming Shinigami.

"_Dad?" _Ichigo gasped. _"How did you manage to get in here?"_

Kurosaki Isshin emerged from the darkness of the tunnel. Ichigo had never seen him look so grim, except possibly the day Ichigo's mother was killed. It still was a bit stunning to see his goofy father with a captain's haori tied over one shoulder, in a full shihakusho, with a red-hilted zanpakuto. Isshin pointed the zanpakuto toward Gin and said, "Ichimaru, let my son go!"

Gin's eyes widened ever so slightly at Isshin's gesture. "Kurosaki-taicho...I'd put your weapon down if I were you. Let me pass an' get your son ta Squad Four's barracks before he dies."

Isshin looked doubtful. "You're using my son as a shield, don't deny it!"

"Dad, listen to me! He _saved my life just now!_ He grabbed Aizen off me before he strangled me with his bare hands-"

"Ichigo, how can you be so damned gullible? Of course he saved your life; you're worth _way _more to him alive than dead!" Isshin argued.

"Indeed," Gin answered with a smirk that made Ichigo's blood run cold. "Even so, I have to get to Squad Four's barracks. If you want to come with us, by all means, do so." Slowly, Gin sheathed Shinso, and Isshin sheathed his zanpakuto. Once the wires blocking their path snapped in half, Gin hoisted Ichigo onto his shoulder once again. Isshin grit his teeth as he watched, and Ichigo suddenly felt terribly sorry for his father.

"Let's go," Gin said, then took off quickly. Ichigo thought to himself as they plowed through the Dangai Precipice, _If I get a chance to ask Shinji about what Gin was talking about, then this all can be straightened out quickly. I hope._

* * *

Genryusai seethed as he watched Ichimaru and both Kurosakis escape through the senkaimon gate. He withdrew Ryujin Jakka's flames, and finally saw Jushiro collapsed on the asphalt next to Sosuke, who looked almost as bad. Kisuke landed next to Sosuke and examined him. _"Ichimaru took the Hogyoku!" _Jushiro yelled as loud as he could manage.

"That must explain how he was able to escape. Urahara, secure Aizen. I will get the transport ready," Genryusai announced. Kisuke began a complex kido spell, ignoring the flurry of activity all around him. Genryusai approached Jushiro where he struggled on the blacktop street. "I will be sending you back to Retsu. I take it that you accomplished your mission?"

Jushiro had to think for a second there about what his original mission had been. "As long as no one is hell-bent on digging through a massive pile of rubble, I'd say I did. Sensei, Aizen was ranting about Samurakami..."

_"Samurakami? Why would he mention that traitor's name nearly two thousand years after his execution?"_ Genryusai growled.

"Sensei, he's claiming-!" Jushiro warned him weakly, gripping Genryusai's haori to pull himself up, and then, he saw it. "Sensei! How did you lose your arm? And where's Shunsui?"

"I'm here, Ju-kun!" Shunsui answered, rushing to Jushiro's side.

"Don't worry about my arm! Forbidden _kido_ spells have consequences. I have accepted this. Shunsui-kun, Jushiro will be taken to Squad Four's barracks. You will be accompanying me with Kuchiki and Zaraki. We will be transporting Aizen back to the Seireitei. He most likely read Samurakami's name in the archives and began making strange fantasies in his head. It is not important. Ichimaru is in possession of the Hogyoku, and the Kurosakis have both gone back to Soul Society, Shunsui," Genryusai rattled off, one sentence at a time.

"No! I'm not going back until you get your arm healed!" Jushiro insisted.

"You're going back to Squad Four's barracks, Jushiro. That is an _order!"_ Genryusai snarled. "My arm cannot be healed, I will not waste Retsu's time with this piddling injury!"

"Orihime can _reverse it!_ I've heard she can even reverse damaged done by a _kido_ spell!" Jushiro reminded him.

"Jushiro, do not waste your time and energy bothering about it..." Genryusai rumbled.

"Look, she's right here! She can do it. Please, Sensei, just humor me," Jushiro pleaded, rather desperate at this point.

"Well," Shunsui drawled, "from a strictly practical stand point, you won't be able to pull your weight with the transport unless you have both your hands. So maybe Jushiro is just being practical."

"Yamamoto-san, it won't take long!" Orihime assured him. Ulquiorra was right beside her, eyeing Sosuke but saying nothing. Jushiro stifled a cough as best as he could.

"Very well. You have convinced me. I shall allow you to reverse this damage, Inoue-san, but nothing more! Aizen must be secured as soon as possible!" Genryusai finally assented.

"And I will go to Squad Four as I agreed. See, was that so bad Sensei?" Jushiro asked.

"I only agreed to this because of the fact that Aizen must be closely monitored the entire trip back to the Seireitei..." Genrysuai grumbled, then Orihime got to work. Jushiro drew a rattling breath and then faced Shunsui.

"Where is Lisa?" he asked his friend faintly.

"She's back in Soul Society," his friend answered, brows raised high.

"Is she hurt?" Jushiro demanded.

"Oh, no, no, she's not hurt. She just needs to... get herself together. We'll talk about Lisa, once you've been treated for your injuries," Shunsui assured him.

"What do you mean by that?" Jushiro asked.

_"Kyoraku! Zaraki! Kuchiki! Assemble by the transport at once!"_ Genryusai's voice boomed over their heads in the darkening night. Shunsui gave Jushiro a despairing look, as though he would have loved to tell Jushiro all about Lisa, but it would just have to wait.

_"She is alive, isn't she?" _Jushiro asked Shunsui with mounting dread.

"Absolutely, yes, Jushiro! I have to go now," he sighed.

Jushiro nodded slowly as Shunsui moved to a cleared area where a plain looking wooden platform with wheels was assembled. The platform had stakes topped with round knobs in each of its four corners, and these stakes had black straps dangling from them. On the front end of this platform was two more straps, as though they were there for a horse to get hitched to it.

Aizen Sosuke was loaded onto the platform. Jushiro watched Shunsui, Kenpachi (with a scowl on his face) and Byakuya align themselves along the outer perimeter of the platform. With Byakuya and Kenpachi on the left, they rested their right hands on the knobs, and Shunsui did the inverse on the right side of the platform with his left hand. Instantly, the straps came alive and snaked around their wrists and lower arms, holding their hands onto the knobs. Their _reiatsu_ was drawn from their bodies, and green coils of power wrapped themselves around Sosuke's feet and left hand. He struggled with his right hand still free to cause mischief if he so chose. Genryusai with his new hand stood before the platform and raised his arms, and the two straps attached to him. Now two green coils wrapped around Sosuke's neck.

"I need one more captain!" Genryusai yelled angrily. Jushiro limped over toward the platform.

"No, Jushiro! You can't make the journey in your physical condition!" Shunsui barked at him.

"But...I'm available. Mayuri has to clean up the town and supervise its replacement in Soul Society, Retsu must already be back at Squad Four, and the others are too injured..." Jushiro argued.

"Indeed? The 'others?' And you aren't?" Genryusai scoffed.

"Sensei! I could-"

"_NO! I gave you an order! It's time you obeyed it, Ukitake-taicho!" _Genryusai roared while pulling his straps tighter, requiring Sosuke to assume a kneeling position. Jushiro's eyes went to Shunsui, whose azure gaze was pained. "Kyoraku! Get someone else who can accompany the traitor back to Soul Society along with us!" he ordered.

Shunsui turned his eyes from Jushiro, then said, "Jushiro, please go with Retsu; she's over there with Shinji and the little girl that used to be Hikifune's vice-captain."

"Oh, is Shinji injured too?" Jushiro asked.

"Eh, like I am," Shunsui answered.

"Then, Shunsui, call on him!" Jushiro suggested.

"With your permission, Sotaicho?" Shunsui asked Genryusai.

"Yes! Yes, get him, Shunsui-kun!"

Before Shunsui could call to him, Kenpachi raised his free hand to his lips and tweeted out a very shrill whistle. "Oi! Visored! We need you! Come here!"

"_Visored?"_ Byakuya winced. However crude the summons, it did get Shinji's and Hiyori's attention. He scowled a bit, wondering what had prompted such a call. Then, he saw _who_ was squirming on the platform and decided to sweep Hiyori into his arms and carry her over there.

Sosuke finally spoke up. _"Hirako_ is not a captain of the Court Guard any longer! I'm only to be escorted by _real captains!"_

Jushiro used his absolute last bit of strength. He climbed onto the platform and grabbed Sosuke by the neck. The other captains surrounding the platform all began to protest this, but Jushiro ignored them. His rage caused their voices to become some sort of muddled sound, some sort of insignificant hum in his brain. He pulled one of the green coils and slid it up to Sosuke's lips. "Shut. Your. Fucking. Mouth."

A thin weak voice cut through the silence that followed. "Now I can die in peace, Shinji. I heard Ukitake cuss out Aizen..."

"Quit talking like that Hiyori..." Shinji admonished her far more gently than he's normally ever heard speaking to her.

Jushiro released his grip on Sosuke and peered down where Shinji stood with Hiyori. She got one look at him and actually began to cry. "Look at him, Shinji, he's _dying!"_

"Not if he gets to Soul Society immediately," Genryusai tried to reassure her, and failing to do so.

"As much as I'm enjoying this show, I got the impression there was something else you called me here for," Shinji asked.

"Shinji, we need a fourth person," Shunsui explained, gesturing to the empty space before him.

Shinji's gray eyes nearly lit on fire, but he contained his elation for just a moment longer. "Ju-Ju, I need you to do me a favor. Would you help make sure that Hiyori gets to Squad Four's Barracks?" Shinji asked of him.

This seems to get Jushiro's attention. He turned away from Sosuke. "Alright, Shinji. I'll take her there with me." He stumbled as he descended from the platform.

Sosuke peeled the green coil off his mouth with his one free hand. "Goodbye, Ukitake Jushiro," he laughed. Jushiro did not answer. He simply settled on the asphalt street again, where Shinji placed Hiyori gently into his arms. Then Shinji took a place beside the stake that was still unoccupied. He placed his hand on the knob as the others had done, and the new green coil that came from him captured Sosuke's right hand.

"Sasakibe, open the senkaimon gate!" Genryusai ordered his vice-captain. The ever-formal man drew his zanpakuto and opened the gate to Soul Society. Jushiro and Hiyori weren't going to follow them in; the transport would not be going directly to the Seireitei. Instead, a procession would take them throughout Soul Society. It could take a while before the party arrived in the Seireitei. But it was necessary. Aizen Sosuke needed to be shown to everyone in Soul Society subdued and powerless, so that everyone would feel safe again. "Make sure Urahara and Kurotsuchi wait until everyone is taken back to Soul Society before they move the real Karakura Town back," Genryusai ordered him.

"Yes, sir, but what about the Kurosaki boy?" he asked worriedly.

"Ichimaru will be facing the Punishment Squad once he gets out of the Dangai Precipice... We shall see how well holding Kurosaki will do him then, won't we?" Genryusai predicted.

Hiyori heard this, looked up into Jushiro's worried face and asked him, "What're you so worried about that dumb shit Ichigo for? Why do you think luck is even called 'dumb?' It's named after him, that's why."

Jushiro nearly laughed, but held it in, lest he begin coughing more blood. Mayuri eyed the procession leaving with Sosuke. Sasakibe approached the captain of Squad Twelve to inform him of the Captain Commander's orders. Jushiro could see a scowl grow on Mayuri's face. He glared down at Jushiro and Hiyori. "Well, well. It would seem that the Captain Commander has ordered that I have to wait to collapse this mess until every last one of you injured individuals has been evacuated. I don't like to be delayed; I have important things to do. Now I'm made to finish this tedious work alongside a man I cannot stand rather than return to my laboratory to examine the specimens I brought back from Hueco Mundo," Mayuri grumbled with resentment.

Hiyori shuddered slightly, and Jushiro leaned over her slightly as though to protect her more from this captain who he'd already labeled a despicable person. Jushiro would keep silent about what Gin had said to him prior to taking Ichigo back to Soul Society. He had a feeling Hiyori might not want to hear it from his lips, but perhaps she'd listen to Shinji, _if_ Gin was telling the truth. Mayuri suddenly called out to Nemu, his vice-captain. "Come here, you nincompoop! These two need some of my organ growing formula, so we can get them cleaned off the street here! Don't dally! Time is of the essence, you simpleton!"

"Don't waste your time, I won't take any of it," Jushiro announced. "And I've told you a hundred times that I don't like the way you speak to your vice-captain. She's a person, and deserves some respect from you; she serves you unwaveringly!"

Mayuri sniffed. "Of course she does; I made her! I'm beginning to think, if you survive this episode, Ukitake, you should have a vice-captain made for you as well, seeing as how you can't seem to find one good enough for you in how long? Forty years?"

Jushiro made no reply. _Ichimaru, if you really, truly, have not been Aizen's ally all these years, then if you get Ichigo back to Squad Four's barracks, I will use all my resources to exonerate you. Just get him there..._

* * *

The Dangai Precipice ended like all long tunnels do, with a light at the end. Isshin watched Gin carry his son the entire time, wishing Ichigo would get that crappy look off his face. His son was covered in blood (and he wasn't sure if it was only the blood of his enemies), his zanapkuto was sealed (but at least it wasn't missing altogether), and he looked dead to the world. "We better be careful once we leave here. Wouldn't surprise me if we have a welcoming committee there waitin' for us," Gin announced to Ichigo and Isshin.

"I hope for Ichigo's sake that Soi Fon isn't as efficient as she usually is," Isshin called back. It was so weird for Ichigo to hear his father talking about these people like he'd known them so well.

Their hopes for a clean entry into Soul Society were dashed as soon as they entered the Seireitei gate. A hoard of black clad Stealth Forces surrounded them. "Good work guys!" they could hear a man's somewhat dull voice praise them. "We got Ichimaru, using Kurosaki as a hostage!"

"Omaeda, I know that's what it looks like to you, but the truth is he's trying to get me to Squad Four Barracks," Ichigo attempted to explain.

"I'm not lettin' him go! I need to get to Squad Fours Barracks too, if I'm gonna find Rangiku there," Gin threatened.

"Matsumoto might or might not be at Squad Four anyway," Marechiyo Omaeda informed him. "She wasn't badly injured after this last battle."

"Well, that's good to know, but I know her captain _had _been hurt bad by Aizen_, _so she might be there with him. At any rate, I'm takin' the Kurosaki boy with me. Unless you wanna be responsible for his death, you an' Soi Fon's lapdogs are gonna get outta my way!" Gin drawled, then drew out the glimmering Hogyoku. Ichigo nearly smirked as several of the Stealth Forces gasped, and his own father's shock registered. "Oh, what's this now? Shocked that I got this cursed thing? Am I gonna have to start _incinerating people_ around here before they get outta my way?" Omaeda backed off, which was a welcome sight to Ichigo. "That's better. Marechiyo, you ain't near as dumb as your captain always likes ta complain. It's only because I have this that I never needed Ichigo here as my hostage. So, that must mean I'm serious about gettin' the kid to Squad Four, right?"

Ichigo was eyeing his father. Isshin had his jaw locked in utter dismay. _I wish you had stayed with Karin and Yuzu instead of following me here. I can take care of myself!_ Ichigo couldn't stand any longer. _The longer we argue here, the less chance of ever getting to Squad Four's Barracks. What we need to do is that trick that Jushiro did in Hueco Mundo. The one where he pulled out the Soul Ribbon and swirled it around us and we both disappeared, transported back to another part of Las Noches. I don't know what that's even called. But maybe, just maybe, if Ichimaru is as smart as Kaien remembers him to be...I've got nothing to lose by trying..._

Ichigo slipped to the ground beside Gin. Gin dared to look down to see what Ichigo was doing. Ichigo looked up at him and said one word, hoping that Gin would understand it and that no one else would...

_"Disapperate!" _Ichigo hissed.

Gin blinked. At first, Ichigo was worried that he couldn't possibly have understood what he was talking about. _How stupid! What makes me think someone like Ichimaru Gin would?_

_"What?"_ Gin asked in a very low voice, almost as though he hadn't heard Ichigo quite right and was trying to comprehend.

_"Disapperate!"_ Ichigo repeated, feeling more stupid by the second. The Stealth Forces were eying him with suspicion, and so was Isshin. Ichigo added with desperation, _"Harry Potter!"_

"Ichigo, what the hell are you talking about?" Isshin demanded.

Gin began to laugh. Not a snickering, condescending laugh, but a full-throated booming laugh. Ichigo's stomach clenched. _What does he find so funny?_ And then, it happened, so quickly, that the Stealth Force had no time to react. Gin whipped out the Soul Ribbon, and in a flash, he and Ichigo appeared right in front of Squad Four's Barracks.

Ichigo was finally able to release his breath. "Gin? What did you think was so funny before?" he dared to ask.

Gin shook his silvery head. "Ain't anyone ever told you just how clever you are? _Harry Potter?_ How perfect is that? Well, it's been fun, Kurosaki-kun," Gin responded and gave him a strange salute. Then, he whipped out the ribbon again and the night air crackled as he "disapperated" once again.

_Ichimaru kept his word and returned me to Squad Four. I hope what he was saying about him being a spy for Hirako was really true..._


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The hallways of Squad Four's barracks seemed to spin as Ichigo was raced to Intensive Care. He struggled to see all the others crowding the halls. He was able to make out his friends from Squad Eleven, Yumichika and Ikkaku. He could not make out what they might have been saying to him. He also noticed Shuuhei, who looked like he had a broken arm. Ichigo wondered if Rukia was under any medical care. By all rights, her condition could be just as dire as his; she'd been in Hueco Mundo just as long as he'd been. If only he didn't feel so helpless. "Kurosaki, you need to remain still," someone warned him. A female voice.

It was Kotetsu Isane, who Ichigo had long ago decided was the quietest person in the Court Guard. But here, at Squad Four, she was much more assertive and sure of herself. Two other nurses accompanied them into a ward. Ichigo knew there were others here, but he could not see them because he was now on his back. Within a few moments, they had his shihakusho off, his zanpakuto set beside him in a smaller sort of bed. An IV needle was poked into his arm. The drip bag was filled with a glistening substance, which was attached by a tube to his arm.

"What's that" he asked slowly, wishing his voice had more strength in it.

"That's so you hopefully don't get weaker," Isane explained. She examined his bare chest and nodded thoughtfully. "Your chest looks good," she said encouragingly.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm looking for injuries that might be causing you symptoms, but there doesn't seem to be any injury to your Soul Chain or Soul Sleep. That's very good news."

"Great, can I leave then?" Ichigo asked, half serious.

"You need to be closely supervised, young man! I'm handing you over to the Third Seat. He's going to take you to another ward where you can be monitored constantly, but you don't need to be in ICU. Understand?" Isane asked.

Ichigo thought about this for a second. _If I was in very bad shape, they wouldn't let me out of ICU, now would they?_ He answered her with as emphatic a nod as he could manage, then two male nurses lifted him into a hospital-style gurney. Zangetsu was placed on a special side ledge, along with his Vice-Captain badge. He was rolled into a very busy hallway, then parked alongside a familiar face; it was Toshiro.

"Hey, Toshiro!" Ichigo called out weakly. Ichigo noticed that Toshiro was attached to an IV drip that looked just like his. And, the young captain was asleep.

"Don't bother trying to wake Hitsugaya-taicho up, because in a minute, you're going to be just as out of it as he is." Ichigo saw a blond man wih sunglasses on hovering above him. Ichigo was pretty sure he recognized him from Sogyoku Hill, where he was trying to treat as many injured people as possible, including Byakuya who had been stabbed by Gin.

"What's your name again?" Ichigo asked him.

"Iemura Yasochika, Third Seat of Squad Four!" he announced. "It's good to see you _here_ rather than in ICU, Kurosaki-fukutaicho." Ichigo strained and managed a weak smile. "Now, we're going to induce a sleeping state so you can absorb as much _reiatsu _as possible."

"How am I supposed to sleep in the busiest hallway in the entire barracks?" Ichigo asked doubtfully.

"Like this," Yasochika answered, pushing his forefinger into Ichigo's temple. Not hard, but firm enough so that it seemed like Yasochika's powers were floating into his brain. At once, all the noise and bustle around him dissolved. Ichigo could hear rain falling outside, and crickets singing intermittently. He was somehow transported into a Buddhist Temple, in a rain forest, with no one there but the crickets making noise. Ichigo laid on a soft reclining pallet near a carved wooden window.

"How did I get here? What is this place? This isn't my Inner World..." he asked aloud. "Zangetsu? Are you here?" he called out.

"I am here, Ichigo. We were put here to aborb the _reiatsu_ in that IV drip. I think that medic Shinigami wants us to be tuned out from the world around us for the time being. I will stay here with you. You do not need to communicate with me right now, if you do not wish it."

For a moment Ichigo was silent. But then, he began to talk about some of the most burning questions in his mind. "Any insights about whatever Aizen was rambling about?" Ichigo asked dreamily, struggling to keep his mouth from yawning.

"He called you '_Shiba_.' I am certain that is the real issue at hand, at least as far as we are concerned," Zangetsu answered cryptically.

"Zangetsu, he was practically foaming at the mouth when he called me that!" Ichigo protested.

"So you are suggesting that he not be taken seriously? Are you perhaps afraid to admit that there may be a grain of truth to his mad words?" Zangetsu pondered.

Ichigo sat up in his pallet and frowned at Zangetsu. His heart began palpitating. "Zangetsu, you're saying that you think that I am _Shiba Kaien_ reincarnated, aren't you? Kaien was a Shinigami, he had his own zanpakuto, didn't he? It wasn't you, was it?" Ichigo asked crossly.

"His zanpakuto's name, as you know, was Nejibana. You are of the Kurosaki bloodline. I am related to your father's zanpakuto, Engetsu, just as you are related to him by blood. But that does not mean that we did not _evolve_ from our past incarnations, Ichigo. As you may no longer be Kaien, _I may no longer be Nejibana." _Zangetsu turned away for a moment, letting Ichigo absorb his words.

"But that's impossible! Your powers have nothing to do with Nejibana's. I mean, wasn't he a water-type zanpakuto?" Ichigo protested.

"The moon rules the tide, Ichigo. You have achieved bankai," Zangetsu pointed out.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Ichigo asked in exasperation.

"And we hate the rain. Do you not know why that is so?" Zangetsu challenged him.

"My mother died in the rain!" Ichigo raged.

"So did we! I died when you died, in the rain!" Zangetsu shot back. Ichigo suddenly felt phantom pain of a sword slipping through his chest. And then, he felt the cold droplets, one by one, covering him, washing his blood down into the earth...

Ichigo shook his head slightly. _Of course I can remember it, I have Kaien's memories, that's all it is..._ He could also remember something else, something that nearly caused his heart to stop-he remembered Rukia's sobs, in the rain. _Kaien had thanked her for helping him leave his heart with her. And sure enough, if I'm to believe Zangetsu and everybody else, it seems, she brought it right back to me forty years later by finding me and giving me her powers when she was too injured to fight that Hollow that was attacking me, ME!_ It was all too confusing and upsetting to Ichigo for him to consider thinking about that any further.

"What about that other stuff he was talking about? About how his father had been executed?" Ichigo asked, attempting to chamge ther subject.

Zangetsu gave him a look. "Perhaps it was possible that Shiba Kaien knew something about that as well," Zangetsu suggested. Ichigo made a face and settled back into the pallet to sulk. _How would that be possible? I don't even know who Aizen was talking about._ But even as the words crossed his tired mind, Ichigo realized what Aizen was trying to say.

And it made his blood run very cold.

_Rukia! He's trying to harm the Kuchiki clan! He managed to nearly destroy the Shibas and the Kuchikis are next! I have to warn her, warn Byakuya, warn Renji! Rukia where are you?_

* * *

Yasochika grinned when he overheard Ichigo muttering Rukia's name in his sleep. _This is prime gossip material, for sure! Wait until I tell the others..._

* * *

Just as Ichigo was settled in the Main Ward, Jushiro and Hiyori were wheeled in, she with five Shinigami attending her, and he with Unohana-taicho herself placing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Still, Jushiro sat upright as much as he could when he passed Ichigo by on his way to ICU.

"_Ichigo! Is he alright? Did Ichimaru bring him back here?"_ he stammered as he passed his vice-captain by.

"It looks like Kurosaki is resting. He's probably got to receive two, perhaps even three liters of liquified _reiatsu_ before we even consider letting him outside again. Really, he can't be depleted like that again, Jushiro-kun. He could lose his powers!" Retsu reprimanded him. "He wasn't supposed to go off on another adventure after Byakuya and I took care of him last night. Sure enough, this morning, Urahara found him missing and reported it to us at once. Even though I believe that Byakuya might have known Kurosaki was going to take off, I can't rationally believe that he knew he'd be fighting again."

"Byakuya was healing him last night? I had no idea that he was still persuing the Healing Arts!" Jushiro commented with a smile.

"That's hardly the point I was trying to make, and you well know it, Jushiro-kun. Just for that, you're getting assigned an extra round of treatment," Retsu told him.

Jushiro would have sighed if he'd had enough lung power left in him to do so, but he knew Retsu wasn't really assigning him extra treatment to punish him, but because he really needed it. _I've been ill all these years. I can tell what I'm going to need before it's even prescribed, by now..._ But still, to allude to the treatment that way...well, it's no wonder she has the reputation she has...

"One last thing before you put me under-has Yadomaru Lisa been here? Has she received treatment for injuries here?" Jushiro asked urgently.

"I can check the logs for you, but I do not believe she has been brought here, Jushiro-kun..." she assured him as he was transferred to an examination table. He was stripped of his bloodied and ripped uniform and captain's haori. "Jushiro, did someone heal your initial injury?" Retsu asked with some surprise as she examined his bare chest.

"Oh, actually, there was this little Arrancar girl who had healing, um, not sure what to call it, that she, well, vomited on me..." Jushiro explained weakly.

"Well, she kept you from dying from this wound, I'd say, but you might end up with a slight scar from this whole experience. Soul chain and Soul Sleep are intact... Yes, maybe a scar, but hopefully, no more than that. What is the status of his lungs?" she asked, all business now.

"Right lung has been completely collapsed," answered one of the nurses.

"Let's get to work then, everyone. Jushiro-kun, time out for a while," Retsu warned him.

"Ichigo will be alright, won't he?" Jushiro reaffirmed.

"Given time, you and he both ought to be able to watch the parade as Aizen gets brought into the Seireitei," Retsu assured him with a kind smile. Then, she put her forefinger on Jushiro's temple, and he slid into a state of complete oblivion to the medical procedures he was about to endure.

As soon as his consciousness shifted, Jushiro entered a zen garden where he could absorb _reiatsu_ with Sogyo no Katawari. Jushiro saw them both seated cross legged on the sand, and he arched his brow. "They have us on _reiatsu, _Father," Waves reported. "It's _his."_

Jushiro smiled nearly as grimly. "Good, that means we have a connection to him," he responded. Many of the powerful Shinigami of Soul Society donate _reiatsu_ just like humans apparently doante blood in the Living World. Jushiro was getting a tranfusion from not his sensei's _reiatsu,_ but from his beloved friend, Shunsui.

"We can't contact Uncle Shunsui while we're so weak, Father," Lightning grumbled.

Jushiro flashed an angry glare at Lightning, but Waves ignored it and continued, "Dad, leave it alone for now. Lisa wasn't injured enough to even be brought to Squad Four, she's probably even better than we are."

"Besides, Uncle Shunsui already said that Lisa was alive and well. Don't you trust him?" Lightning added.

"I can't wait that long. Once I start assimilating Shunsui's _reiatsu_ as my own, I won't be able to connect with him any longer," he reminded his zanpakuto, then began to focus as much as he could considering his waning strength.

Jushiro knew that his friend was part of the entourage that was escorting Sosuke back to Soul Society. He found them on a dirt road in 72nd District South...

* * *

It was rather desolate, not quite a desert, but unpopulated by virtually anyone except the random traveler. They were following the Great Soul Road, which in these back districts is hardly great. On other parts of the long road, they would eventually encounter high amounts of traffic, delaying their return to the Seireitei by days at least. Everyone was going to want to set their eyes on the most notorious traitor in centuries. Aizen Sosuke was bound hand foot and neck to the platform, and the five men escorting him and keeping him from moving little more than his jaw (which regrettably could not be bound as securely) were showing some signs of fatigue, in spite of their enormous _reiatsu_ levels.

"Boring enough for you?" Kenpachi asked with a growl.

"Do you know this area?" Byakuya asked him.

"I only remember it vaguely when I was first leaving District 80."

"District 80? So it's really true, that you walked all the way to your destiny from that horrible place?" Shinji asked.

"And killed the last Kenpachi when he got there," Shunsui added.

"Well, that lazy bastard had it coming... I never had a good opinion of that guy. He refused to come to even one Captain's Meeting the entire time he 'ran' Squad Eleven," Shinji groused.

"Is that really so?" Byakuya gasped. "I had heard some things from my grandfather about him, but I had no idea he had such disrespect for his post!"

"Yeah, no kidding, even I wouldn't dare disregard an order to attend a Captain's Meeting! It's true that I cut out early a lot of the time, but at least I show up!"

"You defeated him in one blow, untrained as you were. Enough said on that tired old subject." The tone of the Captain Commander's voice would not permit any further argument.

In desperation, Jushiro attempted to probe Shunsui's mind. _Please, my dear old friend, tell me what has become of Lisa! _

Shunsui sensed his friend's will, even out in the middle of nowhere. _And he's asking about Lisa,_ he thought with despair. _How can I tell you what happened? You need to be there in front of me when you hear it..._

Jushiro was the one filled with despair now. _No, please, don't wait! I can take it, I promise!_

"Yoo hoo, Shun, where are you now?" Shinji asked.

_"Lisa," _Shunsui fretted.

A ripple of anger coursed through the straps attached to all of them. "Why are you bringing _her_ up now? Are you so very saddened that she is gone? I for one haven't had adequate time to rejoice over her departure!" Genryusai announced almost gleefully.

"You've always had something against her, and I never understood it," Shunsui remarked with bitterness.

"She was never a woman of good character. And her association with you always made me question your judgment," Genryusai explained. "She went where she wasn't supposed to go, all the time, and in many ways. Any place explained to her to be off limits, _she_ would go there. I'm sure she was a good Shinigami, but she was not a quality person."

"That's harsh, Sotaicho, if you don't mind me saying so-" Shinji began.

"Stay out of this, Hirako! I argued with Jushiro over _that woman!"_ Genryusai confessed.

This announcement made a number of brows raise in silent response. Only Sosuke had something to say. "And here we all thought that Ukitake Jushiro was a blushing virgin..." he sneered. Genryusai's grip on his straps grew tighter and as a result, Sosuke actually gagged. Sosuke writhed until Byakuya managed to remind Genryusai that Sosuke needed to make it to the Seireitei _alive._

"Tell him to keep his mouth shut, then, Kuchiki," Genryusai growled.

"Look, arguing about Lisa is pointless. She's not going to be able to go back into the Seireitei anyway. She lost her powers in the battle. She lost her memories of being a Shinigami. I mean, she couldn't even remain in the battle once her Soul Sleep and Soul Chain were both pierced," Shinji reminded them.

Shunsui could feel despair, Jushiro's despair, fill him. He didn't understand how he could sense his friend all the way out here. "Don't be a fool, Hirako, or have you forgotten about Jushiro's determination? Just because she lost her powers does not mean that he will not try to seek her out in the Rukongai!" Genryusai snapped.

"Do you really think he'd try to go and find her?" Shinji asked.

Genryusai glared now at Shinji. "And here I thought you knew him so well, Hirako. For some inexplicable reason, he thinks she's the love of his life! He seems to not realize that he could have any woman in the Seireitei, could do way better than that..."

"Uh, uh, Yama-ji, that's enough. Let's not go there!" Shunsui warned Genryusai sharply.

Kenpachi leaned forward slightly to speak into Byakuya's ear. "Some soap opera, huh?" he joked, prompting a snort of laughter from Sosuke.

"Stop being so crass," Byakuya warned Kenpachi, who backed away and snickered a bit.

"So the guy fucked this woman. Why are you all so stunned?" Kenpachi asked. "What'd you think he was gay or something?"

"Yes, indeed, if only he were gay," Sosuke ventured. The platform actually stopped dead in the middle of the road from Sosuke's comment. Byakuya looked so outraged that Souske laughed at him. "Why are you so surprised? _He's a beautiful man!_ Why wouldn't Yadomaru and a long line of other people want to fuck him? I confess, I used to think on him sometimes, even as I was with my Gin-chan on rainy nights-" Sosuke drawled. Byakuya gasped. "Oh, dear, didn't Gin tell you about it? No? How loyal he was to me! He gave everything to me, even his childish body! Don't worry, Hirako, I was gentle with him. _Must make you real proud of your perfect squad, having your vice-captain molesting your third seat right under your nose!" _

Jushiro's despair was causing Shunsui's heart to palpitate. Shunsui closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears. The chaos being caused from Sosuke's words were loosening some of the grips on him, especially his hands, where Byakuya and Shinji were in charge. Sosuke loosened his binds on his neck, then rasped, "Rukongai trash like him know how to please, I have to tell you. Oh, but you probably already know all about that, Kuchiki, don't you, having been married to one yourself!"

Byakuya gripped the knob under his hand hard. When he did that, Sosuke's left hand involuntarily knotted into a fist and was jammed into his mouth as far as it could fit. Shinji followed suit, making his right hand cover it all up. Genryusai pulled the straps again, and Sosuke slammed face down onto the platform again.

"It's about time, Kuchiki," Genryusai admonished him.

"I apologize, Sotaicho. I won't be so lax again."

* * *

Jushiro awoke from the trance. Retsu made an upset face. Jushiro heard a lot of activity in the hallway. One of her higher ranking officers poked her head into the room and reported, "It's Komamura-taicho-we can't get his levels stabilized!"

At the same time, Isane fretted, "Madam, we have to get Ukitake-taicho back under so we can finish the procedure!"

Retsu stood up. "Isane, if I don't get Komamura stabilized, he will die. I must rely on you to get Ukitake back under." She was already heading out the door, leaving Isane with Jushiro.

"It is fine, Isane-chan. I have made peace with my imminent death a while ago. When you live on borrowed time as I have for so long, you know that your death may come at any moment, and you need to be prepared for death," Jushiro reassured her.

Isane, however, was having none of it. Her captain gave her an order, even if it was next to impossible to carry out. She placed her forefinger on his forehead and began her work...

* * *

Shunsui had felt Jushiro slip out of his awareness once again. The sensation of his departure left a gaping ache in his chest. And just then, just as all six of them had fallen into silence, they heard the booming peal of a single, huge bell. Tears filled Shunsui's eyes, and if his hand hadn't been bound to the platform, he would have collapsed completely.

"Shun, no, it's not for him, it can't be!" Shinji said in a horrified rush.

Genryusai turned his head to face Shinji and Shunsui, and commanded them, "Keep this damned thing moving! Once we get to a populated area, we will get more word. Until then, we proceed!" But no matter how hard Genryusai wanted the order to sound, it lost most of its effect due to he heavy cracking of his voice...

* * *

Ichigo's eyes opened when he heard the bell, even through the stupor he was in. Bleary, he turned his eyes to his left, where he saw Isshin seated next to him. "How are you feeling?" Isshin asked.

"Got a headache, hope I don't throw up..." Ichigo admitted.

Isshin produced a syringe in a gloved hand. "This stuff in here ought to help, Ichigo, but it's gonna put you into a pretty trippy place, understand?" he warned his son.

Ichigo thought about it for a second. "Okay, but first tell me why everyone is kind of upset and that bell woke me up."

"Ichigo, didn't you hear the bell toll when Aizen 'died?'" Isshin asked him.

"Huh? You mean, someone _died?"_

"Yes, Ichigo. One of the captains has just died."

Ichigo gripped his father by the wrist as his heart began to pound. "Who? Tell me dad! Please, tell me it wasn't Jushiro!" he gasped.


	22. Chapter 22

_I apologize in advance for Hitsugaya OOCness..._

Chapter 22

Before Isshin could even respond, the answer became apparent. Shuuhei and Izuru (who Ichigo hadn't even noticed when he was brought in), both jumped up and rushed to Iba Tetsuzaemon, who was now wailing with grief.

_"Those fucking bastards!"_ Tetsuzaemon seethed, taking his trademark sunglasses off and pinching his upper nose. _"They killed my captain!"_ Ichigo turned his eyes away. Tetsuzaemon's captain-Komamura...

_Not Jushiro. Not my captain..._

Isshin gestured with the syringe again, and Ichigo nodded one time. "After this, I'm going to go over to Iba. I worked with his captain quite extensively through two World Wars." Isshin explained quietly as he injected the drug into Ichigo's IV drip.

"Dad, tell him I'm sorry," Ichigo asked him. Isshin just patted Ichigo's shoulder and smiled at him sadly. Ichigo sighed and watched Retsu rush back to Jushiro's room. He hoped that the stuff his father injected him with was going to work. He realized he'd have a lot of awkward explaining to do if he spontaneously puked a bunch of Hollow guts and brains onto Squad Four's floor...

Iemura hurried over to him and pressed his forehead once again, explaining very quickly, "We're going to try and get one more bag into you, Kurosaki. I let you talk to your dad for a minute, but that's all. Bedtime for you!" Ichigo closed his eyes then, plunged back into another world again...

* * *

Ichigo had no inkling of the time when his heavy eyelids opened once again. Iemura wasn't there anymore, but instead Yamada Hanatoro seemed to be making rounds among the injured with some sort of food. He finished ladling some of this substance into a large bowl for Hiyori, who for once didn't have a major scowl on her face. In fact, she even _thanked_ Hanatoro, like normal people do. She was one bed past Toshiro, who was also awake now, blowing out the heat from whatever it was that Hanatoro was serving. The young Seventh Seat of Squad Four wheeled his cart over to Ichigo's bedside and greeted him with a big grin. "Well, you transfused two and a half bags of _reiatsu._ So, how do you feel?" he asked.

"Not bad, I guess. My head seems stuffy," Ichigo complained.

"Are you hungry?" Hanatoro asked.

Ichigo was stunned at how his stomach reacted to the mere suggestion that he'd be hungry. "Starving!" Ichigo gasped.

"Well, sit up then, we've got just the cure for what ails you, coming right up!" Whatever it was that Hanatoro was serving, it smelled wonderful. He pulled a ledge over Ichigo's bed so that it became a small table, and a large white bowl was filled with a thick beige looking creamy substance. Upon further inspection it seemed like a fish stew, which seemed a bit odd to Ichigo, until he tasted it. "Hanatoro! This is just what I needed!" Ichigo declared.

"We make it specially for anybody that has had lots of _reiatsu_ transfusions or medications recently," Hanatoro explained.

Ichigo was downing it so fast that he was three quarters through his first bowl before he realized that Hanatoro was still there. "Oh, Hanatoro, thanks! By the way, is Rukia here?"

Suddenly, Hanatoro got this odd sort of grin on his face. Ichigo had no idea why he had this look. "Ah...Kuchiki-sama hasn't been admitted to Squad Four's Barracks. I think she's been staying by her brother's barracks while her captain is recuperating. But she's been inquiring about you. Maybe you should send her a Hell Butterfly to tell her that you'd like to see her?"

Ichigo nearly bit his lip. _I've never sent a Hell butterfly before. But wait...Kaien had, hadn't he? Sure he has..._ "Uh, yeah, I think I will. Um, once I'm up on my feet. And how's Jushiro doing?" he asked Hanatoro with sudden urgency. It seemed like everyone sort of stopped what they were doing for a moment as soon as the words left Ichigo's lips. "Oh, no, what is it? What happened?"

Izuru and Shuuhei strode right up to Ichigo, then sat next to him, making Hanatoro move aside. One of them produced what looked like a birthday card with writing covering both the inside and the back with writing. "Not that one! We started another one, where is it?" Izuru asked crossly, and then Shuuhei put that one away and pulled another card, just as covered as the first one. "Oh, shit, who has the new card?"

Three beds away, Rose, whose head was wrapped with bandages, raised his arm weakly. "Sorry. I've just got...so much to say."

"I'll get it," Izuru said, leaving Shuuhei with Ichigo for a few seconds.

"You've got birthday cards going around?" Ichigo asked.

"It seems so feeble..." Shuuhei complained.

"Damned right it's _feeble!"_ Toshiro complained.

"Wait a minute. Isn't today _your_ birthday, Toshiro?" Ichigo shot back.

For once, Toshiro showed some emotion besides annoyance or anger. "Ichigo, while it's true that Komamura Sajin passed away today, and while it's true I got badly injured today, on my birthday (big deal), I got some incredible gifts as well. First of all," he said, ticking off things on his fingers, "Aizen has been taken down. After how much he'd hurt Hinamori...Knowing that he will face justice is a gift that is almost indescribable. But, there's more! Hinamori, she's going to be alright! I-I can't even tell you how worried I've been about her these past months. After the injuries she sustained this time, after everything we tried to do to stop Aizen, after all that, we were left broken, but she's going to survive! She's going to recover!"

"You must be very relieved," Ichigo agreed.

"And to top it all off..." Toshiro started, but then, it sounded an awful lot like he was getting choked up. Ichigo had his spoon in midair, forgetting the stew completely. "To top it all off, _I finally saw your father again after twenty years!"_ Toshiro dissolved into sobs, and he's never appeared so young to Ichigo as he had at that moment. Ichigo was so stunned that he forgot to put the spoon down. He slid the tray aside, and struggled to get up. Shuuhei helped him rise rather than try to keep him in bed. He silently accepted Shuuhei's aid and they carefully shuffled to Toshiro's bedside, with Hanatoro right behind them.

"_My father was Captain of Squad Ten, and you were his Vice-captain, weren't you?"_ Ichigo guessed. "I swear, I had no idea that my father had been a Shinigami before today!"

"We weren't allowed to say anything about it, Ichigo-kun," Shuuhei apologized.

Toshiro dashed tears off his reddened face. "No, I wasn't allowed to speak of him. Not allowed to think of him. Not allowed to acknowledge that he existed. Not allowed to even acknowledge the wish of my heart that I'd _see_ him again! And then, by some miracle, on the darkest day of my life, Isshin-dono appeared again. _He was there, at the battle! _And then, while you were sleeping and getting your _reiatsu_ transfusion, he got to talk to me!" Toshiro finally took a shuddering breath.

Ichigo bit back the words he was going to say, words like _My father isn't worth getting this worked up over._ He decided to be silent instead, and slowly sat in the chair beside Toshiro's bedside. The child captain's zanpakuto had been broken during the battle, but Hyorinmaru was recovering beside his master on a side ledge. "It must sound strange to you, hearing someone else outside your family speak of your father as though he was the only father figure _he_ ever knew... I know that Ukitake worried about me a lot after Isshin-dono was gone. I must have seemed so ungrateful to him," Toshiro frowned.

"He'll understand, trust me," Ichigo assured Toshiro.

"That's if I ever get the chance to speak to him again," Toshiro disagreed.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked. "Is he alright? I mean, I know Sajin passed away a couple of-hours? ago! But, I thought Jushiro was going to be okay! Isn't he?" Ichigo asked in near panic.

"Maybe you'd better go see him for yourself," Shuuhei fretted. Tetsuzaemon rose suddenly from his corner in the corridor and came over.

"Let me get him, Shuuhei. You need to rest too," Tetsuzaemon told him, taking Ichigo up under the arm. Every eye in the place that was open was trained on Ichigo and Tetsuzaemon as they walked over to the ICU where Jushiro undoubtedly still lay.

"I'm here to see Ukitake-taicho," Ichigo told Iemura, who had been shuffled to ICU to work between rooms.

"He can't have visitors, not right now, I'm sorry," Iemura told him sternly.

Ichigo sighed and leaned on the doorframe of the room across the hallway from Jushiro's room. "Tetsuzaemon, please go back to my bedside ledge. I need my badge," Ichigo told him quietly. Puzzled, the Squad Seven Vice-captain back-tracked to the main corridor. Ichigo leaned into the wall, willing his head to stop spinning.

When Tetsuzaemon returned, he had Izuru and Shuuhei in tow. _Of course. My badge is bound to cause a stir, isn't it?_ Ichigo eyed the three other, _fellow,_ vice-captains. Then he managed a weak grin. "Thanks," he said, taking the golden badge from Tetsuzaemon's shocked hands. "I think _this_ entitles me to enter the room, Yasochika-san. I need to see my captain now."

Iemura thinned his lips considerably, but moved aside. "I warn you, Ukitkake-taicho is in no shape to be debriefed or anything else, Kurosaki-fukutaicho," he told Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded once, then, Iemura opened the door. Ichigo gulped when he saw Jushiro and the condition he was in. _Iemura wasn't kidding when he said Jushiro was in no shape to be debriefed. And no wonder Toshiro is so worried that he might never be able to ask Jushiro's forgiveness._ Ichigo barely noticed the other guys retreating in the background. He realized that he wasn't quite prepared to face Jushiro either. Hastily, Ichigo grabbed some of the soul ribbons tied around his waist and unraveled enough so he could strand it through his vice-captain's badge and then awkwardly tie it around his left arm. It didn't matter that he wasn't wearing his Shinigami uniform, and it didn't matter that Jushiro was really not conscious. _What if Jushiro does come to, and he doesn't see it on me?_

Ichigo finally sat beside Jushiro's bed, on his right side, so if Jushiro woke up, he'd have a good view of the badge of Squad Thirteen on his arm. He eyed the _reiatsu_ IV drip on Jushiro's wrist, which was painfully thin-looking now. Most of the blood had been cleaned off his white hair and his face and hands, so far as Ichigo could see. But a wicked looking plastic tube had been inserted into Jushiro's trachea, apparently. That was why he wouldn't be able to speak even if he was conscious.

For a few moments, all Ichigo did was gaze sadly on Jushiro. Anyone who saw Jushiro in this state who cared about him would have a shit fit. Ichigo couldn't help but feel slightly guilty as he felt at least somewhat responsible for Jushiro being in this state. Ichigo fidgeted with his fingernails for a moment, then glanced up and saw a clock on the far wall.

The time was 12:10 am...

A bit excitedly, Ichigo leaned in and grinned as he told Jushiro quietly, "Guess what? I get to be the official first person to wish you a Happy 2000th Birthday! Since you are officially still alive, maybe I ought to contact Grimmjow and tell him you made it after all, huh?" Ichigo joked.

And, to his amazement, Jushiro managed to shape a smile around that tube in his mouth.

* * *

_I meant for there to be more for this chapter, but I was (yet again) running into the problem of a chapter that was getting too long. The Epilogue will need to be its own chapter, sorry. But I really wanted to post this right before Christmas, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed it, and going to try like hell to get the Epilogue up before Christmas as well. _


	23. Chapter 23

Epilogue-One Step

One step...

Into the Seireitei, through the Southern Gate...

The huge Shinigami guard of the Southern Gate cast a shadow over the small party of five captains and captive, led by the oldest Shinigami of the Court Guard. Thousands of spectators surrounded the platform, and indeed, all during their long trip, the crowds had been wildly cheering and throwing all manner of items, from flowers to rotten fruit, at the caravan. But at this all-important moment, they fell into complete silence.

"Who is it that wishes to pass?" the guard asked in a voice surely equal to his size.

"It is the Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, and the Captains of Squads Five, Six, Eight and Eleven, with the traitor Aizen Sosuke in our custody!" Genryusai answered. Shinji, Byakuya, Shunsui and Kenpachi all seemed to stand up a little straighter. Sosuke, of course, could not, as he was bound very tightly still on the wooden platform. Shinji's heart began to beat just a little faster as the gates were pulled open, and the cheers from both First District South and the South End of the Seireitei flooded the air.

It took everything in Shinji not to weep at the sight. _I'm home..._ The path crested over a hill, and so they could all see rather far into the Seireitei from their vantage point. Sokyoku Hill, the most prominent landmark in Soul Society, was clearly visible even from the South Gate. The glittering roof tiles of the houses of the Seireitei reflected the sun, thin in these very early winter days.

Then, it occurred to Shinji... _Ji-san made a mistake! Squad Five has no captain. Why did he announce a captain of Squad Five if there is none?_

Genryusai stepped forward first, pulling the platform forward, and then, Shinji and Byakuya passed through the gates. "What word of Ukitake Jushiro and Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked his vice captain, who appeared beside Genryusai as he entered.

"They are both at Squad Four's Barracks, Sotaicho," Sasakibe answered.

"Recovering, we hope?" Shunsui called to Sasakibe.

Sasakibe managed to crack a smile. "Indeed, Kyoraku-taicho, I am glad to report they are both expected to fully recover," he told them.

"See, I told you, Shunsui!" Shinji said while turned toward his longtime friend.

"Yes indeed you did my friend, indeed you did!" Shunsui grinned.

"I am relieved as well, Sotaicho," Byakuya admitted.

"Yeah, now I can pound that Kurosaki fair and square!" Kenpachi laughed eagerly.

The entire platform and all the captains now entered the Seireitei's borders. Beside him were cheering citizens of the Seireitei, men, women, and children, with brightly colored ribbons and sashes waving about, showing their joy at Aizen's capture. But for all that, Shinji could not concentrate on them. _Is Ji-san losing his mind? Has he been Captain Commander too long? Surely he wasn't still referring to Aizen, no, he couldn't have been!_

He turned to face Shunsui, wishing that he'd be more audible, that the people in the crowd would shut up for just one second. "Kyoraku! What's going on with the old man? He was talking about a Squad Five captain? He wasn't talking about this sack of shit here, was he?" Shinji shouted while practically walking backwards and twisting his arm beacuse of it being attached so strongly to the post.

Shunsui leaned forward and grinned widely. _"Merry Christmas, my friend!" _he nearly laughed.

Shinji frowned slightly. "No, that's not what I was asking you about, I was asking about Yama-ji-" he began, but then broke off when he saw Shunsui simply start nodding. "He said-"

"There _is_ a Squad Five captain, Hirako Shinji! And no, Yama-ji was _not_ talking about Aizen Sosuke!" Shunsui told him.

Shinji's gray eyes widened, and his jaw even dropped. But all he could say was "J-Ju-Ju?" Shunsui's azure eyes met Shinji's and he laughed. Shinji abruptly turned around and shuddered while muttering, "Oh, Ju-Ju, what did you do, what did you do?"

Genryusai turned one beady umber eye to Shinji, who seemed to be losing his composure. "Hirako-_taicho,_ concentrate on your task at hand!" he reprimanded Shinji.

"Oh, uh, yes, _yes, Sotaicho!"_ Shinji stammered, making certain his power continued to flow uninterrupted through the post to the green strap binding Sosuke's right hand. _Ju-Ju, I'm going to wring that skinny neck of yours when I see you next! What did you promise the old man to make him take us back? Whatever it was, you shouldn't have bargained for it. Now, I'm going to owe you forever and ever._

* * *

One Step...

Out of the Recovery Ward of Squad Four's Barracks...

Jushiro held the coughing spell inside his chest, determined not to distract anyone from letting him stand up from the bed. He'd been in ICU since his birthday, and now, it was Christmas Day. Rumor had it that Aizen was getting dragged through the streets of the Seireitei already, and the word was that they were going to be making a special stop before Squad Four's main building in order to present Aizen to him and to Ichigo. He _had_ to be ready for their arrival.

_One foot in front of the other...One foot in front of the other..._ After the two steps, Jushiro began to cough. A spot of blood emerged from this spell. _Not so bad, not so bad, I've had worse bouts. Way worse._ Ichigo propped him up on one side, while Yasochika held up the other. "We got you, Taicho," Ichigo told him.

"Great, let's keep going," Jushiro told them. All he was trying to do, at least right this second, was stand up long enough to dress in something more formal than the white robe of the infirm. Ichigo was already dressed in the black _shihakusho _of his rank, and he had his badge on his left arm as well. To Jushiro's relief, it appeared as though his vice-captain has made a full recovery. And even though no amount of dressing up would ever make Jushiro look like he was fully recovered, it was still important to put on a good impression that his recovery was imminent. So, while he wasn't wearing his own _shihakusho, _they placed his haori on his thin shoulders, this one new and clean without holes in the back or blood all over it.

Retsu stood in the doorway of Jushiro's room. "Jushiro-kun, they expect to be arriving here in about ten minutes. We'll watch from the side veranda, over the street, where you'll get a clear view of them. Whenever you're ready..."

"Retsu-sempai, I think we're ready. Aren't we, Ichigo?" Jushiro asked.

"I think we've been ready for a long time," Ichigo answered.

"Let's wheel you out, and when the parade passes by, you can stand against the railing," Yasochika suggested.

"Very well," Jushiro sighed. He hadn't really wanted to be wheeled out there, but he did need to conserve his strength as much as possible. So, with another resigned sigh, he sat down in the wheelchair.

The sun was getting a bit brighter. There were a number of the younger people on the veranda already, including Jushiro's newest Fourth Seat, Kuchiki Rukia, along with Abarai-fukutaicho. Hiyori had her cell phone up in front of her, lens facing the throngs of people across the street as well as the ones right below on the street level of Squad Fours barracks.

Toshiro eyed her. "You can't actually get a signal for that thing here, can you?" he asked her.

"I'm going to record this and upload it to Facebook," Hiyori told him.

"Yeah, lots of luck with that!" Ichigo snorted with derision as he led Jushiro to the railing where everyone was congregating.

"It's just Hueco Mundo you can't get a signal, Superbrain," Hiyori sighed. "How do you think Shinji was able to-er-I-mean..."

"Hack into the computers of the Gotei 13?" Ichigo asked.

"La da da, I didn't hear that!" Jushiro suddenly sang really loudly.

Hiyori was a bit flushed. Ichigo leaned down and then glared at Hiyori's phone. "Are you on Facebook? I didn't get to see the legendary 'Hueco Mundo' album," he mentioned.

"Oh, yeah! Here, let me get to Pickle Dick's wall..." she grinned as she waved her finger furiously over her screen. Toshiro and Ichigo were then both treated to Shinji's "Hueco Mundo" album.

"Look at it! Kyoka Suigetsu, completely destroyed!" Toshiro marvelled.

"Now _that's_ what I call a great Christmas gift!" Ichigo said, pointing at the phone screen with the image of the green hilt of Sosuke's insidious zanpakuto without any of the blade, as it had been turned to ash.

"Next best thing to being there," Toshiro agreed. "Let me see that one of Aizen looking miserable again!"

They heard a bit of a gasp behind them as they peered with glee at Souske's downfall photos. Toshiro turned around and gaped. _"Momo?"_

_"It's Aizen-taicho?_ How did you get those pictures?" Hinamori Momo asked in a small, sad voice.

"My friend took them and posted them on Facebook," Hiyori grumbled softly.

"Momo-chan? How are you feeling?" Jushiro asked, diverting her attention away from Hiyori and her cell phone.

"I-I almost didn't come out here. But, Ukitake-taicho, I-I _had to!_ I have to see him!" Momo cried.

"Come here, you can be right here next to me, if you'd like," Jushiro offered her.

Momo stood next to Jushiro in his wheelchair. "Ukitake-taicho, it's going to be bad, isn't it?"

Jushiro simply looked up at her with sad hazel eyes. "Even with all the celebration around us, there is sadness as well. Aizen was a part of all our lives. This is not going to be easy for us to recover from, Momo-chan," he told her gently.

Toshiro glared at her. "It's going to be bad, and after the things he did to us, it should be!"

Momo was about to speak, Rukia was about to add something, and Hiyori was seething, but a loud boom cut all of them off. Ichigo leaned over the rail to Jushiro's left. "Hiyori! Start that camera, they're coming!"

On Ichigo's left, Rukia leaned forward as well. She squeezed Ichigo's hand when she saw the platform roll toward them. Sosuke was sitting up, with his hands bound to the platform floor, and it looked like he'd had his fair share of things thrown at him. Genryusai looked like he should have been gritting his teeth, but he was not. _"There's Nii-sama!" _Rukia gasped.

Renji noticed Rukia's hand on Ichigo's on the rail. He eyed Byakuya, and saw his out. "I'm going down there!" he told Rukia and used _shunpo_ to arrive beside Byakuya.

At the same time, Kiyone and Sentaro arrived with _shunpo_ behind Ichigo and Jushiro. "Taicho, the legal documents!" they announced in unison. Jushiro turned around and saw Kiyone with a scroll.

"They were messengered to Squad Thirteen barracks about a half hour ago," Sentaro told them.

"Let me see them!' Jushiro ordered them, and Kiyone handed him the scroll. Hastily, Jushiro unrolled it and scanned it with determined hazel eyes. "Ah, dammit," he muttered. "Ichigo! I need to consult with you!"

"Er, yes Taicho, what's up?" he asked, leaning down.

"They've already got Gin's list of charges against him..." Jushiro muttered.

"Damn it! What'll we do?" Ichigo asked in a low mutter like the captain's.

"I wanted to file some documents with the court but I haven't been able to get up enough strength," Jushiro sighed with a shake of his head.

Ichigo's mind raced. _Hey, Kaien, what's the deal?_

_/If you want to help Ichimaru out, he's going to have to make sure he stays out of the Maggot's Nest!/_ Ichigo's mind saw the Maggot's Nest detention area in Kaien's memories in a flash.

_Okay, I got it..._

"Taicho, read the charges. Gin's not stupid, he'll hear the charges and I have a feeling he'll lay low long enough for us to file the appeals," Ichigo told Jushiro in a hushed tone, lest Hiyori (or anyone else for that matter) hear them.

"Alright, that's about all we can do. I wish I knew where he was," Jushiro fretted.

"You know, maybe it's better that we _don't _know his exact whereabouts," Ichigo pointed out.

"I suppose. It's just that, I made an oath to myself to see his charges dropped if he got you here. He fulfilled his end of it. I must do what I can." Jushiro's mind wandered to what he had overheard when he was connecting with Shunsui when they were on the Great Soul Road. _Especially if what Aizen said was true, if he was molesting Gin..._

* * *

One Step-Before the Squad Four Barracks

Renji appeared beside Byakuya. "Taicho, was there anything you needed?" he asked.

"No, Abarai-san, aside from some crowd control, perhaps." His cool demeanor hid the turmoil within him.

"Good call, Taicho, I'm on it!" Renji agreed, stepping forward to keep the crowds from descending too close to the platform along with several other Shinigami on crowd control duty. Byakuya glanced yet again at Sosuke, thinking again with broiling resentment about the fact that _he'd_ been a guest at his wedding to his precious Hisana...

That _he'd_ been the one who sentenced Rukia to death by Sokyoku, and that he was supposed to accept this sentence by a fake Central 46...

That _he'd_ violated his friend and schoolmate...

He was sure there were a thousand more sins that Aizen Sosuke had committed. And the worst part was that there was no means to execute him any longer-thanks to that irascible boy Kurosaki Ichigo destroying the Sokyoku. However, he couldn't stay angry at the boy too long, after all, he did save Rukia's life. His debt to Ichigo was heavy. He needed to repay it; a Kuchiki with a lingering debt loses more of his honor every day.

So when the platform stopped rolling, Byakuya looked up at the side veranda of Squad Four's barracks. Screaming and cheering filled the air. A vaguely familiar girl with blonde pigtails was practically falling over the rails holding what looked like one of those infernal cell phones in her hand. Beside her was Rukia, who was furiously waving at him. He allowed his head to incline in acknowlegement. His adopted sister was in the left arm of Kurosaki Ichigo, who was eyeing everyone in the party with interest. Beside him was Ukitake Jushiro-looking frail and now starting to stand. Ichigo reached over to prop him up under one arm until he could lean on the veranda rail. Beside him was Hinamori and Hitsugaya-taicho, both still dressed in the clothing of the sick bed.

Byakuya heard Hirako yelling up at Ukitake "You and I have to talk, Ju-Ju!" The captain of Squad Six merely shook his head very minutely and wondered how it was possible that such people could act with so little dignity.

"Jushiro-kun! Good to see you on your feet!" Shunsui called up to him as well.

"Wouldn't miss it, Shunsui!" he called down, but Byakuya could barely hear him.

"Byakuya! Awesome!" Kurosaki called down to him. "Looks like fun!"

Byakuya wouldn't answer. In his estimation, there was nothing fun about any of this. _How can I pay my debt to him? The very thought makes me miserable. But I must do it, somehow._ Abruptly, Genryusai's raised his arms and bellowed "Bakudo #77: _Tentaikura!" _ The crowd slowly grew silent. Through the kido spell, Genryusai spoke: "Where is Ukitake Jushiro, Captain of the Thirteeth Squad?"

Jushiro leaned forward and called out, "I am here, Sotaicho!" In spite of themselves, cheers began to emerge from the spectators at his words.

When they quieted down, Genryusai continued. "Where is Kurosaki Ichigo, Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Squad?"

Byakuya felt a jolt of shock course through him as Ichigo answered, "I'm right here, Sotaicho!"

_"What? He's Vice-Captain of Squad Thirteen? When did this happen?"_ Byakuya couldn't help himself from stammering, though most of his words were drowned out by the wild cheering at his announcement. Rukia looked up at Ichigo with eyes that betrayed a great deal of her emotions towad him. Byakuya would have reeled had he not been still attached to the platform. _I am looking at the future of the Kuchiki Clan, aren't I?_ Byakuya thought wildly, gritting his teeth

"I present to you Aizen Sosuke, Traitor to Soul Society, whom you have both aided in securing! As such, the honor is upon you for the Reading of the Charges against him. Have you recieved them?"

"Yes, Sotaicho we have!" Jushiro told him in as loud a voice as he could muster. "I will have my Vice Captain read them, as his voice is stronger than mine!" Again, shock coursed through Byakuya, but at least this time, Ichigo looked surely as shocked as he felt as he was handed a scroll.

Sosuke called up to Jushiro, "Again, you insult me! First by having someone who isn't a captain escort me through Soul Society, and now by having your _underling _perform the Reading of the Charges!"

* * *

One Step-into the Past

Jushiro glared back down at Aizen Sosuke as his words caused jeers of anger and hate over his words. He closed his eyes for one second, and the visions of the past appeared before them. _A tiny baby in my arms, his sepia eyes looking up at me as I carried him away from his mother, who did not dare to glance at him for fear she'd lose her courage. There he is, that baby I'd helped deliver in secret, not far from this very spot, all those years ago. On that platform. Hated. Reviled..._

_No, I am unworthy of the honor of the Reading of the Charges against you, son of __Samurakami Masashi__..._

"Taicho? Are you sure?" Ichigo asked Jushiro again, just to make sure.

Jushiro opened his eyes and painfully glanced at Ichigo. "Don't listen to him Ichigo, you have every right to that honor after all you have done in service to the Soul Society already! Read the charges!" he ordered.

Ichigo unrolled the scroll, and glanced up at the crowd before starting to read. "Addressing the former Captain of Squad Five, Aizen Sosuke, you are hereby charged, by unanimous vote of the six judges of the Central 46, of the following crimes against Soul Society..." Ichigo began to read...

* * *

One step-onto a throne

It had taken several days after he'd banished all the Shinigami from Hueco Mundo before he really had the nerve...

"Here we go," Grimmjow muttered to himself, uncharacteristically uncertain for a moment, before he walked to the throne that used to serve King Barrigan, and then Lord Aizen. He climbed up the dais, then, dared to sit upon the stone seat...

He grinned dumbly for a few seconds, then nervously sang _"I...Am King...of the Forrrrrest!" _like the Cowardly Lion. Tesla, his _fracción, _appeared puzzled. "That was probably after your time, _The Wizard of Oz."_

"Probably, King Grimmjow. You're actually very young to be sitting on the throne," Tesla commented.

"Yeah, not bad for an eighteen year old high school kid, is it?" Grimmjow laughed.

"King Grimmjow, are you certain that Lord Ulquiorra isn't coming back here? He would be the only real threat to your rule..." Tesla fretted.

"Nah, although...I really wish Orihime was here."

"King Grimmjow! No woman is worth you jeopardizing your position!" Tesla frowned.

"You don't have a very good history with her, don't think I've forgotten that either. Don't talk about that piece of crap you used to serve either, another misogynist creep!" Grimmjow growled.

"Er, King Grimmjow, please don't-" Tesla stammered.

"Sheesh, don't bug me!" Grimmjow ordered him. Tesla seemed subdued for the moment, then Grimmjow continued, "You never know what's coming around the corner, Tesla. Maybe she _will_ end up back in Hueco Mundo one of these days..."

_Hopefully, with Bat Boy out of the way..._ The thought made Grimmjow smile widely.

* * *

One step-into a Trap

Orihime unlocked the door to her apartment for the first time in months. "Orihime," Ulquiorra frowned, "I sense something-I don't know what it is. Let me go in first," he ordered her. With a deep worried frown, she stepped aside as Ulquiorra went ahead of her and stepped over the threshold.

And a beam of red light trapped Ulquiorra right inside! Orihime screamed, but Ulquiorra commanded her, "Run, Girl! Get away from this place, now!"

"It's too late for that, Arrancar!" A Shinigami appeared in Orihime's apartment. She vaguely recognized him.

"Aren't you from Squad Twelve?" she asked the youthful looking but slightly freakish Shinigami, with a few thorn-like horns protruding from his forehead and dressed in a white lab coat.

"I'm flattered that you'd remember me. I'm known as Akon, Third Seat of Squad Twelve. My captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, will be very pleased when he sees that I've captured a healthy specimen for his research purposes," he said with a nasty smile.

"No! Ukitake-taicho gave us a token, and Yamamoto-sotaicho has us under his protection-" Orihime began to argue. Akon simply grabbed her and Ulquiorra drew Murcéilago from his scabbard and growled.

However, Akon simply grinned even more broadly and held a lethal looking needle up to Orihime's neck. "My captain wanted to do extensive reseach on _her_ too, Arrancar! Give me any trouble, and I'll simply take her back to Soul Society and we'll run the experiements we've been wanting to run since last August."

"And if I _do_ cooperate with you, Trash?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I leave her unharmed. Of course, she won't remember you or anything else that happened here, because I'm going to wipe her memory of it so she can't go running to that meddling white-haired bastard or his Daddy Captain tattling on me," Akon warned Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra sheathed Murcéilago and said, "All the better, Trash."

Orihime began to sob terribly as the red light dissolved around Ulquiorra. "No, Ulquiorra-kun, you can't do this, _please don't do this! Not for me, I'm not worth-"_

"Girl!" Ulquiorra cut her off, "it is _my _fate! There is no way I'd ever allow it to become _your_ fate, stop talking foolishness!" Akon bound Ulquiorra with the Winding Binding Chains before he had any sort of chance to move away from him or escape. Ulquiorra closed his eyes for a moment, unable to bear seeing the tears coming from Orihime's eyes. If he could have blocked out her choking sounds, he would have.

Akon took something that looked a lot like a Pez dispenser out of his pocket. "Don't cry, Human. This Hollow is doing this for you. He must love you very dearly to do something like this for you. He knew that a trap had been set in here before you even walked in here. That's how I knew if I threatened you, he'd come quietly. So quiet down, look at this, and forget all about this business. Your friends are all coming over in a minute. You're going to be all smiles for them, make them some lunch, tell them you were visiting a relative for some time in Australia and you're _very sorry_ you didn't get to tell them you were leaving for so long..."

"N-No!" Orihime protested, but Akon already snapped the stick on, flashing in her silver eyes, and left her staring at nothing.

"Open!" Akon ordered as he held up his zanpakuto and turned it. The round Senakimon gate appeared, and the doors slid open. Hell butterfiles flitted over their heads. Ulquiorra turned one last time, looking into Orihime's vacant eyes with his malachite gaze...and then followed Akon, and then the gates shut behind him.

* * *

One Step-into the future

Ichigo finished reading the charges against Sosuke, then began reading the charges againt Ichimaru Gin. To keep up the façade of Gin being the enemy, Ichigo read them as loudly as he could. _Maybe he might hear them and lay low. _Sosuke had been defiant, of course, repeatedly protesting certain charges, answering for others with a smirk or a laugh. _How did you manage to hide the fact that you were spying for Shinji all these years, Gin? How did you put up with this guy?_

However, while Ichigo read the charges against Gin, Sosuke seemed a bit contrite. His mad sepia eyes looked at the bright noon sky above and he sighed audibly. Ichigo could hear Jushiro's seething beside him. This was the first time he'd heard Jushiro make any sort of response since the Reading of the Charges began.

Then, Ichigo read from the scroll, "Addressing the former Captain of Squad Nine, Tosen Kaname, deceased, had been charged, by unanimous vote of the six judges of the Central 46, of the following crimes against Soul Society..." People began to get a bit restless by this time, as no one was really all that interested in hearing that the charges brought against Tosen Kaname had been dropped simply because he's met his demise in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo had next to no contact with the guy anyway. _Seemed like a strange guy to me,_ Ichigo thought of him, then completed the Reading, which prompted the crowds to start cheering with enthusiasm all over again.

After handing Jushiro the scroll, he dragged Rukia over to Hiyori, demanding, "Did you get that? That part where _Nii-sama_ heard I'm Vice Captain of Squad Thirteen and his priceless expression?"

Rukia protested, "Ichigo! Try acting like you're a Vice-Captain of a squad instead of a little boy!" she yelled at him, wresting her hand from his.

"Aw, c'mon, Rukia! You gotta admit, that was awsome! Besides, I just realized something; _I'm the Vice Captain, and you're the Fourth Seat, _so you're supposed to be addressing me properly!" Ichigo realized.

"Ok, Ichigo-_baka!" _Rukia retorted, whacking him in the stomach for good measure.

"Hey! Wait a minute, Rukia! Seriously now, I have to talk to you about some things," Ichigo cried after Rukia took about five steps away, pushing people out of her way to get back into the building again. "Wait up, Rukia! It's about the Kuchikis. I-I think Aizen is planning trouble for you guys."

Rukia stopped. "Fine, let's go to the garden and we'll talk there..."

Once they got to Squad Four's garden, they both sat down and Rukia immdiately asked, "Why haven't you said anything until now?"

"Renji's been clinging to you like a dead vine, that's why! It's seriously annoying me! He finally left once Byakuya showed up with that lunatic, Aizen!"

"Alright, what's going on?" Rukia asked.

"During our final battle in the Fake Karakura Town, Aizen started talking babble. I only heard a tiny smidgen of it before I stabbed him, but he was taunting Ukitake about being stabbed by his own zanpakuto many years ago by someone who he claimed was his father," Ichigo began.

Rukia's violet-blue eyes widened. "Ichigo! That incident happened almost fifteen hundred years ago!"

"Did you hear about it?" Ichigo asked.

"We were not taught that Shinigami's name. All I know was that he was a traitor to Soul Society, _and_ a captain of the Court Guard. Ichigo...he was the most recent person to be executed by the Sokyoku," Rukia shuddered.

"Kinda twisted, isn't it? He sentences you to the same death his father had suffered..." Ichigo concluded.

_"Ichigo, there's no way that could be true! _There's no way Aizen Sosuke could be that old! We'd know about it!" Rukia argued.

_"How_ would you know?" Ichigo asked. Rukia frowned, suddenly uncertain. "You'd think a guy like him would have gone to the Shino Academy much sooner if he had been that old, but adults _do _attend the Academy.." Ichigo continued.

"Of course, all the time! Anybody with potential can attend, even old people, if they manifest the ability," Rukia agreed.

"So, he probably kept it quiet about his real age?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Yes, but what does this have to do with the Kuchiki Clan?" Rukia asked.

"After I stabbed him, he really went off on this whole 'I'm the royal bastard of this captain dude' thing, and he said that his blood as just as good as the Kuchiki Clan's..." Ichigo fibbed. _Actually, he was calling me Shiba, and said Shiba blood had been too thinned out. I don't want Rukia to know about that yet. The subject is still raw for her. _

"Hmmm... Well, back in the old days of the Court Guard, only nobles were ever Shinigami. That's probably what he meant-" Rukia began to say, but Ichigo cut her off.

"Wait Rukia! I remember when I was fighting Byakuya on Sokyoku Hill. He said that the noble clans sometimes produce, if they are lucky, one captain every few generations. Who was the most recent captain before Byakuya? Oh no wait, it was Kuchiki Ginrei, Byakuya's grandfather..."

"Right. How did you know that?" Rukia asked.

_Crap, I've got to be more careful with using Kaien's memories!_ "Um, the same way I know that my father had been captain of Squad Ten..." Ichigo answered. Rukia was about to stammer, but Ichigo cut her off, "Yeah, I know no one is supposed to talk about it. Well, cat's out of the bag! Anyway...So we know that sometimes, the talent doesn't even skip a generation. The Force runs strong in our families," Ichigo quipped.

"Is that Star Trek Wars?" Rukia asked, rolling her eyes.

"No Rukia, there's Star _Trek_ and Star _Wars. _Two separate Space Operas." Ichigo instructed her like she was a two year old.

"Can we ever have a conversation that doesn't devolve into complete idiocy?" Rukia complained.

"Oh, you love it, Rukia!" Ichigo dissed her.

"Who in their right mind would love talking to a complete idiot?" Rukia raged.

_"You!" _Ichigo countered.

"Oh, so at least we both agree that you're a complete idiot," Rukia grinned.

"Wait, no! That's not what I meant!" Ichigo stammered, trapped by his own joke.

"Sure it is, _Idiot!_ Heads up, I think your captain needs you, Idiot-fukutaicho," Renji quipped, making Ichigo scowl.

"Fine, but just remember, it's _your_ family he's threatening," Ichigo warned her, all joking aside.

"I don't see the threat, really," Rukia retorted.

"You talking about Aizen? He's _finished, _Ichigo. Time to move on!" Renji sniffed.

Ichigo didn't answer. He went back to the side veranda, and saw Rose and Hiyori crowding Jushiro, _weeping._

"Ohmigod, what happened?" Ichigo asked with dread. Anything that made _Hiyori _cry had to be tragic. But, to Ichigo's surprise, no one answered him.

Jushiro finally said, "Do you think you can tell the others?" but Ichigo didn't think the captain was speaking to him.

"Either us, or Shinji..." Hiyori told him.

"It should be Shinji," Rose corrected her.

"Maybe it should be _you, _Ukitake-taicho, since _you_ made it happen!" Hiyori suggested, wiping her eyes.

"What's going on?" Ichigo finally demanded.

"You'll see!" Hiyori told him, then went back to ignoring him.

Ichigo decided that he wouldn't get pissed off just yet. Maybe the Visoreds had some kind of business that didn't involve him directly. And then, it occurred to him; all of them had been captains or vice-captains of the Court Guard at one time. _Could Jushiro have just pulled some more strings on their behalf? Jeez this guy doesn't quit, does he? First he got _me_ into the Court Guard, and now he's getting _them_ back in too?_

_Soul Society will never be the same again, will it?_

* * *

_And this concludes Right Where I Belong. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it whets everyone's appetites for my next projects._

_The follow-up story, Find Where I Belong, which will feature more of Ichigo's and Rukia's POV, _should_ be started by Summer 2013. _

_I also have a "prequel" story in the works, Taken Where I Belong, which will be an UlquiHime story, and that one should be out soon too. _

_Thanks so much for reading and all your great feedback and support!_


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